Private Project

Side

The curtain opens on a 1920s style bar. SOPHIA (mid 20s), reminisces on her recent relationship and copes by smoking and drinking the evening away. She talks to him on the phone and the anger at him bubbles out. In the heat of the moment, she sings her heart out into a wine bottle. In the lull after release, Sophia leaves the bar and closes the curtain on that relationship.

  • Project Type:
    Music Video
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 29, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    35mm
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography

Emily Massey (she/her) is a New York-based director and producer. She loves working on projects that highlight underrepresented communities and stories. Her credits include a documentary feature on Netflix, a short film on Paramount+, and a Sundance-award winning feature film. Currently, she works as a Delivery & Post Production Coordinator at Bleecker Street Media.

With over three years of experience freelancing in physical production, she has a trained eye for visual storytelling and set elements. As she continues towards her goal of working full-time as a producer, she enjoys working on a range of projects that increase her knowledge of the entertainment and media industry and connect her with other similarly passionate individuals.

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Director Statement

As a 21st century woman, I feel haunted by the assumptions and gender roles that women are expected to play in relationships. Whether it is flirting or long-term relationships, the views that men hold regarding women formed long-ago. Feminism was popularized and is promoted in current media, yet the conservative ideas of women remain.

With this music video, I chose to place the main character Sophia in the context of the 1920s as a way to contrast the view of women in that era with the belief in progress today. Seen only from her perspective, Sophia undergoes a breakup. This focuses on a female protagonist, but plays with the sexiness and female rage that men always targeted at this time. Sophia is a femme fatale, but she also has the ability to be independent and the center of her own story.

I hope that this video not only entertains with its old-fashioned style, but also subconsciously causes the viewer to consider the female point of view in relationships and how it can be destructive simply from the force of long-ingrained stereotypes. Today, a century after the 1920s, how much has changed and what still remains the same?