Joy

Joy is an experimental film that juxtaposes the distresses of being an immigrant woman in America, against the courteousness one feels obliged to present.

  • Lorena Lourenco
    Director
    Pedagogy, Self(hood), Teatime With Mr. Patterson
  • Lorena Lourenco
    Writer
    Pedagogy, Self(hood), Teatime With Mr. Patterson
  • Lorena Lourenco
    Producer
    Pedagogy, Self(hood), Teatime With Mr. Patterson
  • Brewster McCann
    Producer
    Teatime With Mr. Patterson, Ashby
  • Joy Sunday
    Key Cast
    "Joy"
    Darling, Self(hood), Beautiful Hair
  • Alex King
    Director Photography
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 20, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Pasadena International Film Festival
    Pasadena
    United States
    March 8, 2018
    North American Premiere
    Power Girls Block Selection
  • IndieFEST Film Awards
    San Diego
    United States
    February 5, 2018
    North American Premiere
    Awards of Merit for Women Filmmakers
  • Julien Dubuque International Film Festival
    Dubuque
    United States
    April 26, 2018
    Iowa Premiere
Director Biography - Lorena Lourenco

Meet a filmmaker who has received the most impressive title of “alien of extraordinary ability” by U.S. Immigration. She is still working on being recognized as a human, though.

Lorena Lourenço is an award-winning writer and director from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who is passionate about telling stories from marginalized perspectives that highlight cultural identity, the immigrant experience and female strength (though she barely works out).

Her short film Pedagogy was accepted into the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received high praise, including a 6-page-spread in European magazine Cinéwomen. Driven by a passion for all things cinema, Lorena has worked in a variety of mediums, from commercials to music videos, web-series, documentaries to shorts. She has written, directed and produced several short films and web-series with stars such as Emily Osment (Hannah Montana), Ivy George (Big Little Lies) and Salina EsTitties (who should win RuPaul’s Drag Race).Her most recent work, Joy, screened at numerous festival worldwide, investigates the experiences of immigrant women of color in Trump’s America.

If you think any of the above information helps her claim to a status of humanity please notify U.S. immigration’s human branch.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When my visa application to establish myself as a female Brazilian filmmaker in the U.S. was derailed by the Trump administration, I sank to some of my lowest lows. While I anxiously awaited approval to work again, I experienced serious and expensive health issues, an emergency surgery, and a slow recovery, all without the security, stability, or insurance because of my otherness. "Joy" is my cinematic expression of that harrowing experience.

I tried to convey through a few different techniques the disconnect between how an immigrant in Trump’s America truly feels and the polite front we show others. One technique being the jarring intercutting between how Joy’s polite facade and her honest thoughts. Both set ups were also purposefully lit and colored very differently, to convey that stark contrast of feelings versus veneer. The sudden intercutting and aesthetically conflicting shots uniquely convey not only the paradox of her existence, but also that of any human, given our struggles of honestly and openly communicating with one another.

Ultimately, my hope with Joy, and all work I produce, is to use the audio-visual medium to make people feel compassion and relate to a character; so that we may share different perspectives and connect with each other. I aspire to move others, bridge social disconnects and shake the status quo as City of God and American Beauty have once done. Through "Joy," I was able to offer my perspective as an immigrant Latina woman striving to work and live in the current American social climate. More specifically, I hope Joy helps the audience to understand and relate to the repressed anxieties and depression that the immigrant women of color experience on a daily basis. In visually conveying the universal human disconnect of honest emotion versus external facade, Joy makes the immigrant pain and experience accessible.

Finally to namedrop; Joy has won an Award of Merit from IndieFest Film Awards and was been selected to spearhead the Inclusive Dubuque initiative at the Julien Dubuque Film Festival. The short has been also been accepted and screened at the Julien Dubuque Film Festival, Pasadena International Film Festival, Official Latino Film Festival, National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Made In Brazil Arts Festival, Tres Court Film Festival, LA Underground Film Forum, Immigrant Arts Festival, Lift Off Sessions and counting.