A BFI NETWORK FILM WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JASON BARKER
Fed up with the constant judgements of those around her, Clare finds power in rebellion.
For Claire's Bedroom I wanted to show how they had outgrown the space, feeling alien in even own home environment. In development Jason and I talked about the film having a timeless/ retro feeling to it, similar to that of Sex Education and End of the Fucking World. One thing Jason wanted to highlight was the small-Village feeling he experienced in his own adolescence.
I was really passionate about building a history to the room, making it look like Claire's mum had decorated it to her own taste/ perception of what a perfect daughters room should look like and as we meet Claire, they are discovering their own taste and freedom of expression.
One thing I was influenced by was the Insitaltion "Strange Magic" by the Creators of Rookie Mag Petra and Tavi at Space 15 Twenty. I love how It captured a childhood nostalgia with a pastel colour palette, cluttered cosmetics and stickers whilst still looking like the space was inhabited by a teen. To me the project seemed like a celebration of femininity, something I loved but wanted to twist with The Piss Witch to be more of an expectation of femininity pushed on Claire from a young age.
To further Illustrate this I looked at "Edward Scissorhands" by Tim Burton who uses a set that contrasts so vastly with the protagonist Edwards introduction to the environment can be seen as a destructive force to begin with, bringing a breath of fresh air to the stale suburbia.
Another film I looked at was"Ladybird" by Greta Gerwig as I really liked how Ladybirds
childhood and exploration of individuality was shown on the walls of her room in the form of old rosettes, magazine cut-outs and drawing directly onto the walls.
One thing I loved playing with was the Kitsch aesthetic, I brought dated wallpaper and cream furniture into the space. I saw this picture of a Deer Lamp and had to have one.
A key part of the narrative to show Clare's discomfort of enforced femininity were the bra's given to her by her mum, Jason and I agreed upon using bra boxes with a 'girly' and 'sexy' look to emphasise this.
These were the designs I created and how they were used in the film.
I sourced the furniture locally from facebook marketplace and donated them after to charity.
Stills From the Film
Poster - photo and design Elkie McCrimmon