The short documentary An Bhabóg Bheo (The Living Doll) was created by a team of undergraduate students on the Film BA Honours course, including Katie Ryan, Sydney Waldman, Catherine Burr, Tara McNamee, Eva Bell and Sam Papapetrou. The film was screened by the National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image (NAHEMI) on 17 November at the BFI Southbank Centre.
Eat Our Shorts is NAHEMI's annual student film short film festival, which compiles, screens and celebrates emerging student film talent in the UK. An Bhabóg Bheo’s acceptance into the annual Eat Our Shorts competition was an outstanding achievement for a first-year project. In addition to its public screening and recognition, Sydney Waldman also won an award for Best Editing for the film.
An Bhabóg Bheo is an experimental documentary following the story of Danielle James, an Irish trans drag performer. The film explores personal journey with her trans identity and drag persona and delves into her experience growing up in secular Ireland.
Director Katie Ryan said: “This documentary process meant many firsts for a lot of the crew. Our team was incredibly small for such an ambitious project, and I am still astonished and hugely proud that we pulled it all off. It is a harsh reality that the trans community, women and queer persons still face discrimination and oppression in Ireland. In a lot of ways, our creativity stems from the darkest and rawest places. But our purpose is to show Irish queer and trans youth that the future is bright. Everything gets better. Danielle James and her story is the heart of this project, and we could not be more grateful for her spirit and soul.”
Senior lecturer and Course Leader Dr Laura Stephenson said: “It is normal for undergraduate film students to take 2-3 years to hit their stride when it comes to filmmaking because the collaboration required, the logistical challenges and the creative vision all need to be aligned. In this regard, the team from The Living Doll did well at achieving that alignment within their first year. Sydney, as the editor, was ultimately responsible for pulling that collaborative effort and creative content into an expressive artistic rhythm - and she did a wonderful job!”
The NAHEMI judges said: “The Living Doll is a remarkable story, hugely helped with an edit that is inventive, creative, that leads the audience through a narrative that occurs on many levels. Without a clear aim of how this story should be told, this portrait might have easily been lost.”
Learn more about Film and Television courses at the University of Westminster.
