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part of
double bill #19
Swollen Stigma
Videolisboa
1997
Impakt Film and Video Festival
1997
Swollen Stigma is a visual, surrealistic narrative about a woman travelling both literally and psychically through several rooms. Memories, or fantasies, of another woman, fill her imagination. The film proposes lesbian imagery, and its shifting points of view jump between the protagonist, fantasy spaces, and her lover, making an internal world leak into what is external.
Bio Sarah Pucill
Film artist Sarah Pucill’s work is distributed by LUX, London, and LightCone, Paris. Pucill also teaches at the University of Westminster. Central to her work is “a concern with mortality and the materiality of the filmmaking process.” Much of her work is situated in the restrictions of domestic spaces. Pucill has been making 16mm films since completing her MA at the Slade in 1990. Retrospectives of Pucill’s work have been screened at Tate Britain, BFI Southbank, Anthology Film Archives (NY), Pleasure Dome (Toronto), Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and LA FilmForum.
Sarah Pucill’s visually arresting 1998 short film Swollen Stigma explores how time passes while considering one’s physical experiences and the limitations imposed on womanhood by society. The main motifs are flowers, frequently shown in an inflated or warped way, illuminating the inner conflicts women face as they navigate a culture that frequently minimises them. Flowers symbolise the tension between individualism and societal standards by serving as a critique of how beauty can be both praised and weaponised.
Credits
Cast
Rachel Gomme, Sally Pucill
Camera
Sandra Lahire, Sarah Pucill
Editor
Sandra Lahire, Sarah Pucill
Sound
Sandra Lahire, Sarah Pucill
Producer