In February 2024, around the same time I was asked to do ‘Escape Plan’, I booked the lead role in another short film called ‘Lady in Red’ which shot back to back with each other. Written and directed by Liwen XU, this was a story loosely inspired by the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, a young female painter who lived a life shaped by trauma, repression and injustice. This retelling follows a girl named Zoe and explores an alternate ending to the historically accurate version…

Similar to a film I worked on a few months prior, this was film shot on a 40 year old film camera! We were limited to only 2 or 3 takes on average for each shot but following careful camera rehearsals were able to get the majority of shots in just one take, with a second one occasionally done for safety. This way of filming felt completely natural due to my strong training and background in live theatre.

It was really special to be able to research Artemisia in full, not just her historical struggles but who she was as both a person and an artist.