We had an opportunity to sit down with Toronto based filmmaker Claire Edmondson to ask her a few questions about her inspiring new one minute ad for Everlast and about breaking down barriers in a male dominated industry.
Bopper: What was the message you wanted to send?
Claire Edmondson: We wanted to make something powerful that got the message across to young girls to stay with sports and also a wake up call to “adults” about the everyday sexism that happens in sports. But really, my take is that it’s not just sports, this message spans across all aspects of life. The fighter feels very symbolic – she could be fighting for her place in anything, really.
AMS: You had some creative freedom in this project but was there an initial plan?
CE: The plan from the start was to make something that was cool and impactful that would also empower young girls, so that never changed, but I think the message got bigger the further we got into the project. I now have the Girl Guides tweeting at me and Huffington Post Teen did a great article that spread far across the internet, so I think we did our job with reaching the target and beyond.
AMS: What do you have planned next to inspire women?
CE: I don’t have anything specific planned. I hope that by simply doing my job well – which is to bring great ideas to the commercials I direct – that helps in some way.
AMS: What can’t you live without on set?
CE: Water. And someone reminding me to eat.
AMS: What song motivates you to break down barriers?
CE: Oh, good question. I can’t think of a song in particular, but musicians like Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre), Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Katie Stelmanis of Austra have always been not only vocal, but proactive about equality and have used their influence for the greater good – those are my people.
We would like to thank Claire for taking the time to chat with us. Claire is currently repped by Steam Films. To check out more of her work click here.
