WomenCinemakers vol V WomenCinemakers vol V | Page 69

……………………….…CHRISTINE.SHEERWOOD……
Lashes is my graduation film from
London Film School. I had been
working on another script when I
came across the short story
“Feathers and Cigarettes” by
Andrew Lloyd-Jones, which won an
award with Fish Publishing, and
knew instantly I had to adapt it,
and share this cinematically. The
protagonist, whom I named Ashley
was so raw, disturbed and in a place
and time in her life where she is
figuring out who she is. Her journey
has her transforming from trying
to fit in to figuring out that she
needs to walk away from all that
nonsense and be herself. I loved
that she wasn't a good girl caught
up in something bad. To me, that’s
not real. Ashley is a real girl. She’s
flawed. She has a foul mouth, an
attitude problem, and until she
stands up for her self can
sometimes be a pushover. That is
when she’s not doing the pushing
herself.
Exploring Ashley in her own world,
in her own life, in this one-day,
where she has come to a realisation
that the road she was on, was a
false one for her. Even if you’re a
young, directionless, foul mouthed
kid, figuring out who you are is
what everyone is trying to figure
out. Sometimes well past their
teens, which is why I think
everyone can relate to Ashley. Her
journey goes from being messed
over to emerging from the chaos
with a better understanding of who
she was. That's not to say she won't
continue to explore and learn and
find herself in more chaos, but in
this one day she learns a little bit
more.
It was very important for me to
portray Ashley as who she is. To
capture her raw feelings. The
moments when she refrains from
saying anything to the times that
she lashes out. Too often women
are not represented authentically.
We come with scars, and bruises.
Some visible, some not. Each one
represents a journey, a story, and
discoveries. Real raw emotions;
regardless of gender, or genre is
where I find the truly interesting
stories to be.
Based on the short story “Feathers
and Cigarettes” by Andrew Lloyd-
Jones, Lashes is an arousing cine-
matic experience, one that deserves
repeated and in-depth viewings.
Christine Sherwood's talent as
director shows itself in the balance
the act of narration: she hares with
Yorgos Lanthimos the desire to
look at the world in new ways
following a close examination of
reality, reminding us of Maya
Deren's words "It is not the way
anything is at a given moment that
is important in film, it's what is is
doing, how it's becoming". We are
pleased to present Christine
Sherwood
for
this
year's
WomenCinemakers
edition.
Christine, tell us about your
trajectory as a filmmaker. What
inspired you to express yourself in
this medium?
To wrap someone up into a new
world, to a new story in just a few
moments is rather exciting. I always
liked the idea that it's not the length
of time you're in someone's life that
can have the most impact, it's what
you do with your time that matters.
Pound for pound, some of the most
impactful films I've seen have been
short films. The short film format has
been a great vehicle to develop a
discipline for storytelling. Very much
looking forward to continuing that
drive, discipline, and passion into
feature films.
Ashley is here marvellously
interpreted by Charlie Lewington.
Can you describe your experience
directing her?
Charlie has the brilliant capacity for
sitting into a performance. Simply
"being" without pushing. She doesn't
seek out the emotions. She steps into
the world and allows the situations
and interactions flow organically.