Filmmaker Statement

Bellybutton is based on a personal experience I had as a thirteen year old in 2002 when my mother took me to have my bellybutton pierced, only to have my father find out later that day and insist it be removed. This event seeped into the top soil of my consciousness where it has remained as a formative experience that shapes my understanding of bodily autonomy and the limits of female agency within certain power structures. My aim with this film was to tell this personal story, while also creating a portrait of adolescent girlhood, when one begins to grasp the potent, yet limited power of sex appeal. I wanted to explore and expose the commercial and cultural factors in 2002 that were at play in shaping that understanding of female identity.