From the Film Maker...

I was inspired by the fact that my painting was a portrait of a real person. This was very intriguing for me, because I found it hard to imagine that there was a person that looked like the person in the portrait. This may be naive; however, there was something about her smile that made the portrait feel both obscure and revealing. It's as if the intention was to shock and show how odd this woman is.

I started to think and imagine her life, whether she was loved, admired or hated; whether she had a good life, or a tragic one. In the end I decided to make a tragedy, but one which had elements of love and admiration, because she was a real person and I assumed that someone must have cared for her.

The style of my film relates directly to the painting with my opening photo sequence, in which I attempted to portray my character, Margaret, through a series of collaged photos.
I was inspired by the smile of the grotesque woman because it seemed as if she was forced to smile for the painting. In the film, Margaret makes an effort to be happy for Jimmy, when really she is mourning the death of her husband.

The painting was the inspiration for my ideas.
Aaron Reid