Bedridden

Hi, my name is Sasha Byk Giroux, I'm an emerging French-Canadian filmmaker based in Sydney. I love to make female led stories, with character driven narratives. "Bedridden" is the first film I made after graduating from Sydney Film School/Excelsia College and it's such an honour to have been shortlisted!

As writer/director, some of my past achievements include having my projects selected for the art of the score iniative at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, the Australian Youth Film Festival (last year!) and the Newcastle international film festival (winning best Australian fantasy). I also recently just wrapped on an ambitious proof of concept western set in 1860s Australia, that we want to develop into a feature film!

What inspired you and your work?

This film came to me from a desire to make something a bit darker, and to explore a time period through a story. I’m very lucky, to have been born a woman in the time and place that I have. And even though things are still far from being perfect, I appreciate every day the privilege that I have to be able to do what I love, to have the freedom to pursue my dreams, and to be able to live my life on my own terms. I make decisions for myself, and my future is my own. Exploring the past, and telling stories of women who would have probably been very similar to me, is probably my way of connecting with them.

By merging in this story two historical examples of oppression and misunderstanding of women: the Witch Hunts and the treatment of Female Hysteria, my goal was to tell a story where very slowly we realise that the real horror isn’t the ghosts and monsters lurking in the shadows, but really the patriarchal society in which these young women live.