The thing about Aubrey is she’s always herself. I’ve worked with some big personalities in the past, but I’m definitely drawn to people who are forming what they wanna be. I wonder though, if she had already been this exceptional podcaster, if you would’ve ever thought of her as your person, because she’s more extroverted than most of your subjects to date.įinlay: I was definitely intrigued by the fact that she was anonymous.
What does it mean to be visible in the world, and what does it mean for her parents to see her? The film feels like the last inch towards that process.įilmmaker: Absolutely. Fifty million downloads, but she’s still just a voice online. She becomes an author and all you see of her is an author photograph. What does it mean to become visible? She starts off as an anonymous writer working on the internet.
#Invisible movie driver#
Her parents have been separated a long time, 25 years, but they have a pivotal role in their daughter’s life, and it was obvious immediately that they both had very different relationships to the work that Aubrey’s doing, trying to change the world for fat people.įor me, that was like “Here’s the emotional driver ,” the engine of the film. They’re the things that make me very happy and, I think, where my strengths lie as a filmmaker. I was just deluding myself that the film wouldn’t be about her, because I like telling big stories through personal narratives. The Sheffield screening, packed out with fans of both Finlay’s and Gordon’s, received a lengthy standing ovation at the Crucible Theatre, and the film went on to win the Sheffield Docfest’s audience award.įilmmaker Magazine spoke to Finlay about the making of Your Fat Friend, her evolution as a filmmaker, and the ups and downs of the last few days.įilmmaker: How did you come to Aubrey Gordon as a subject?įinlay: I’d originally asked Aubrey to write a voiceover for an essay film. While Finlay follows her evolution over several years from anonymous blogger to the host of hit podcast Maintenance Phase, her primary lens is on Gordon’s relationship with each of her long divorced parents, Rusty and Pam.
Your Fat Friend focuses on fat activist Aubrey Gordon. At the UK premiere in Sheffield just a couple of days later, Finlay introduced the film with an emotional tribute to Tom. The morning after the world premiere of Finlay’s latest film, Your Fat Friend , at Tribeca Festival, Finlay learned of the death of Tom of a suspected heart attack. Her third feature film, Sound it Out, told the story of the last record shop in the Northeast of England and its owner, Tom Butchart, a school friend of Finlay’s. Her films have told many unlikely stories: the rise and fall of a reluctant Elvis lookalike in Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, two Scottish hip hop fraudsters in The Great Hip Hop Hoax, a pregnant transgender man in Seahorse.
Over the past 15 years, British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay has earned a reputation for nuanced, sensitive and compelling documentary portraits. Jeanie finlay, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Your Fat Friend In Directors, Festivals & Events, Filmmaking, Interviews
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