Bones & Cotton

Bones & Cotton is a visceral exploration of body image, personal transformation, and the relentless pressures of external expectations. This story began as a reflection of my own struggle with the my female body—a battle that, as I’ve grown, I’ve realized extends far beyond myself. It’s a struggle shared by the women around me, including my mother, all of us navigating a tiresome standard in this patriarchal society.

At its core, this film delves into the complexity of motherhood—both warm and corrosive—and how it shapes a daughter’s identity. I wanted to highlight the small, intimate wounds that fester in the shadows of passive-aggressive love, rather than focusing on violence. Lara’s journey to become a supermodel parallels her desire to escape her mother’s legacy while still being consumed by it. Her decision to swallow cotton becomes a symbol of her rebellion and metamorphosis, a transformation driven a primal instinct to survive and thrive in an unforgiving circumstances.

Cotton is more than a metaphor for strength and fragility. It represents the duality of control and collapse, the fragile balance we all navigate when pushed beyond our limits. Much like the robust cotton tree producing soft, delicate fibers, Lara is forced to embody both resilience and vulnerability as she gets closer to the breaking point by her own mother.

I wanted to explore what happens when humanity is pushed to the edge, when a person has no safe space left, and their primal instincts take over. Lara’s metamorphosis is not just physical; it’s the manifestation of a deeper rebellion against societal and familial pressures—a descent into a state where survival comes at the cost of one's identity.

Bones & Cotton captures that delicate tipping point—when the desire to win and be seen transforms into something self-destructive and irreversible. It’s a journey of ambition, rebellion, and ultimately, a reckoning with the self.