Dear Lucy
Robyn, a filmmaker finishing her degree attempts to look back at her girlhood through the eyes of her sister, Lucy, a young girl about to embarking on her coming of age. This film looks backwards as much as it looks forward. With an age difference of 10 years between them, Robyn evaluates her role in Lucy’s life while looking back on the events that shaped hers 10 years ago. While the two share similar challenges, Robyn fears that in her youth, she may have been changed for the worse. The two share memories and explore what it means to be a girl, a women, and a good sister.
Dear Lucy is my thesis film. Although, more importantly, this film is a deeply personal collaboration with my younger sister, Lucy. This short is a coming of age film for both my sister and I. Shot over the course of my senior year, Lucy and I share secrets, hobbies, and insecurities. For me, this film represents a final goodbye to my childhood and the acceptance of the commitment of not only adulthood, but also eternal sisterhood.
Production
This film was a singular project, I produced, directed, filmed, and edited the entirety of this film. Though much of the footage wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration with my sister, this project brought up a lot of emotions that I hadn’t dealt with in a while. Thus, I denied a lot of external help in the making of this project, with the exception of a few shots filmed by my partner. This was great lesson for me as a filmmaker, and really showed me where my weak spots were as a creative. Being a truly reflexive film, the insecurities I faced in this production were ironically explored in the film’s narrative itself— imposter syndrome and my perfectionism.
I also got to include my love for 35 mm photography in this project. Teaching my sister how to use a 35 mm camera and watching her creativity take control was a inspiring and a true “proud sister” moment. It was entirely eye-opening to see her developed photos and really felt like I was seeing the world through her eyes. Having that moment with her was very memorable and definitely made a huge impact on the narrative of this film.
