SECRET BLONDE
In this short film, commissioned by the Paul Mellon Centre and Yale Centre for British Art, I collaborated with writer and producer John Wyver to delve into the haunting legacy of Ruth Ellis. In response to Professor Lynda Nead’s lecture series, ‘British Blonde: Women, Desire, and the Image in Post-War Britain,’ the film unfolds as a powerful response to Ellis’s tumultuous life. Convicted of murdering her abusive lover in 1955, Ellis’s story reveals a complex interplay between society’s perception, her Hollywood-style image, and the shadows of a turbulent past in the exploitative London nightclub scene of the 1950s. The film sets out to explore the hidden truths behind Ellis’s immaculate blonde facade and the enduring impact of societal judgment on her conviction and reputation.
