Filmmaker Statement

The idea for my high school senior thesis, “Mercy”, was sparked by my sophomore year Literature class. In a chapter titled, “Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires”, I learned about literal and metaphorical representations of uneven power dynamics. The chapter highlighted older men as domineering, often predatory, figures in contrast to younger, naive, and vulnerable women. I immediately wanted to explore the visual symbolism of a young girl clad in the innocence of white against an older, darker, and masculine figure. However, I wanted to use the expectation of these visuals as a red herring for the true nature of their power dynamic. From there, the rest of the story fell into place, as I challenged myself to take on complexity for my capstone project. The character of Elizabeth was developed with the hope that I could reunite and collaborate with my childhood soul sister, Sophie Grace, whose incredible talent and hard work had earned her an Emmy award. From start to finish, this project