INSIDE OUT

I wanted to create a stripped-down beauty piece, showing what it’s like to be watched and be watching, thus “Inside Out.” Since it was to be an abstraction, I looked for a girl who had a story written in her face. A girl with intrigue and allure.
I cast Milou because she immediately engages you, asking questions about the project, how her role will play out, and describing who she is and what will define her in this piece. Her curiosity increased my curiosity, and I found her energy to be palpable. In revealing aspects of herself when we spoke, she somehow concealed just as much of herself and I was left wondering more about her than the character I was trying to create.

As I began to film, my idea for the piece completely changed. I found myself directing her but at the same time following her. My position became ambiguous.

Sometimes a studio situation has to be all about imagination. We ask the girls to give us something, to tell a story with their faces, to hint at an emotion, to entice us, to entertain us. We direct and instruct, and in turn they take on their role. They have little to work with except the character we create for them with makeup, hair, and styling. The setting is a white space with lights that illuminate them as this character but also sometimes create a glare in which you can see a sliver of them trying to reveal themselves.

I stare at Milou through the camera and coax a dialogue with no words. I then realize it is the words I want to discover. I developed this further with the writer Anouchka Grose. I gave her no direction, only that the story had changed and Milou had created another one. Anouchka instinctively reacted and sensed the unwritten text that needed to exist.

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