Autoportrait

A transgender woman is haunted by her old life as the isolation of lockdown brings up familiar feelings of entrapment and loss.

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Synopsis: Whilst living alone during the COVID-19 crisis, a transgender woman finds herself struggling with old familiar feelings of entrapment and lost time as the isolation and uncertainty of a seemingly endless lockdown begins to mimic the imprisonment and fear of gender dysphoria which she thought she had escaped years ago. Shot solo by the creator in their home, Autoportrait is an experimental work combining elements of drama, documentary and horror, using the universal language of lockdown as a metaphor for the trans experience.

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A red band trailer can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/503029652 password: trailer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13973642/

  • Tristan Alice Nieto
    Director
  • Tristan Alice Nieto
    Writer
  • Tristan Alice Nieto
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Horror
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 45 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 20, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.6:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tristan Alice Nieto

Tristan Alice Nieto is a writer and filmmaker living in London. She has worked in the film & television industry for over twenty years, primarily in post-production. In London she worked as a visual effects artist on several high profile films including Maleficent, Ant-Man and the Oscar-winning Gravity. Autoportrait is only her second film as director, and was created as a personal response to the Covid-19 crisis.

http://tristannieto.com
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2433497/

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Autoportrait was created as a way to process the various feelings I was dealing with during the Covid-19 pandemic. Alone in my home, I started experimenting with different forms of cinema that better reflected the new reality of lock down. Far from my usual style of film making - tightly scripted, storyboarded, and planned to precision - I began exploring free form techniques that worked without a script, filming improvised scenes as they came to me.

With no cast or crew and limited equipment, I was forced to re-examine the process of film making and conventions by which we define what makes a film. I wanted to capture the truth of my experience, so scenes were devised which reflected the reality of my day-to-day life and my state of mind.

The result was part narrative, part documentary, and highly personal. Initially I considered it simply an étude - a practice for perhaps a larger project - but after showing it to a few friends I began to consider that it might have a life as a short film in its own right. I'm excited to see where it might take me and how it will go on to shape my approach to future films