Sweat

My first experience bringing the story of Sweat to life was on the stage, as choreographer. In this process, the story of these women became incredibly important to me; I was haunted by their struggle to advance in a world designed to exploit and subdue. When the opportunity arose to adapt the stage production for film, I jumped at the opportunity to direct.

I wanted this film to have its own unique language, both tonally and structurally. In working with a starkly minimalist set, the emphasis was placed on the movement of the cast and their ability to literally become the machine to which they are bound. By connecting them so closely choreographically, they not only were tied to the ‘machine’, they became part of the greater whole, an unbreakable and resilient female support system.

Given the unique distinction that the story is told entirely through song and movement (also a capella song), I was further adamant that the bodies of the characters depict the workings of the machine. With no instruments, the a capella score calls upon the singers to use their voices to embody the machine; extended techniques captured percussive and mechanical sounds, sirens and ambient factory noise. If the voice became the factory, the body must become the machine.

This is a large ensemble cast, which leant itself well to a wide aspect ratio which supported the choreography and perspective. We used a steadi-cam extensively in the piece, because movement is so vital to telling the story. The camera in this capacity provides an opportunity for the lens to become part of the ensemble; it adopts the POV of the characters, it breathes with them and allows for an unparalleled intimacy.

It was also important to myself and the entire creative team that the story represents all women who work in the garment industry around the world. It is set in an anonymous place, a nondescript location that tells all we need to know about the working conditions these women face day after day: the physical danger the factory imposes, the low pay, gruelling hours, sexual exploitation and isolation from family.

Despite it all, these women continue to fight for agency and breathe life into their personal and intimate dreams, though they are all unknowingly pushing towards a tragic end. Their story, though holding a spotlight on an industry that is desperately in need of change, is one of courage and an insistence on finding self worth and beauty in the possibility of dreams. This is the narrative that I insisted on and it informed my directorial choices when weaving fantasy, memory and dream sequences throughout.

To this end, I leaned heavily into nostalgia in the dance sequences and made the decision with our cinematographer, Ash Jones, to shoot with an anamorphic lens, which gives the picture a dreamlike quality and a sense at times that reality is perhaps not what it seems.

As my feature film debut, ‘Sweat’ was an enormous challenge but also tremendously exciting in the possibilities it opened up for me creatively and the skills I’ve developed in the process.

I’m so honoured to have been entrusted with this story and hope that its humanity, tragedy, but also message of resilience brings awareness to a vital need for change in an industry carried on the backs of our mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers.