Sundance Filmmaker Focus: Bridey Elliott
Date: 15 June 2023 (Thu)
Venue: Broadway Cinematheque
@Eye Catcher Global 2023
Post-Screening Talk Guest: Bridey Elliott
Moderator: Sonia Wong
Following the screening showcase of five of Bridey Elliott’s films, the award-winning director, actor and writer shared with the audience how her upbringing in a family of comedians, real life experiences and interests in various subject matters inspire her creative storytelling.
Her works unanimously share a sense of ambiguity and a “disturbed” feeling, all the while maintaining a playful side of absurdity. The director, a fan of comedy and horror genres since childhood, stated that she enjoys “offering a sense of openness to whatever that resonates with the audience”, because “it’s always important to bring out the humanity of people”.
Bridey has been an avid teller of female focused stories that are inspired by people from realities such as online videos, or coming from her personal, emotional experiences. She described her creative practice as a “deciphering process” of dynamics within relationships and human desires, which are often the subject matters of her films. She sees filmmaking as a means to rebel against the fixed female (mis)representation, and expectations that have been imposed onto women. This exploration has also challenged her to experiment with different film genres and her roles in the industry.
Finally, Bridey shared her experience of participating in film festivals, which she thinks is important, in a way to “meet in person with other filmmakers, watch their films and be inspired at a close distance”. She also stated that the significance of joining festivals is to build future collaborations creatively, form communities and build momentum.
焦點辛丹斯影人：布萊迪・艾略特
日期：2023年6月15日
地點：百老匯電影中心
@Eye Catcher Global 2023
映後談嘉賓：布萊迪・艾略特 (Bridey Elliott)
主持：黃鈺螢
得獎導演、演員兼作家布萊迪．艾略特（Bridey Elliott）於是次映後談中與觀眾分享了她在喜劇表演者家庭的成長歷程、現實生活經驗以及對各種主題的興趣如何激發她創作出獨特的故事。
她的作品總是充滿一股曖昧和令人「不安」的感覺，卻同時有著荒誕俏皮的面向。這位從小就喜歡喜劇和恐怖類型的導演表示，她喜歡「為任何能引起觀眾共鳴的事物提供一種開放的感覺」，因為「展現人性是很重要的事」。
布萊迪同時一直熱衷於講述以女性為中心的故事，這些故事的靈感來自現實中的人們，比如網上影片，或來自她個人的情感經歷。 她用「破解關係動態和人類慾望」來形容自己的創作實踐，而這些也往往是她電影中的主題。她亦將電影創作視為一種手段，來反抗大眾對女性的固有（錯誤）形象以及強加於她們身上的期望；這種探索也啟發了她創作不同類型的電影和挑戰工業內的不同角色。
最後，布萊迪分享了自己參加不同影展的經歷：她認為可以「與其他電影人面對面交流，近距離觀看他們的電影並受到啟發」是非常重要的，同時亦表示參加影展的意義在於建立未來的合作機緣，形成社群並且凝聚創作動力。