Giving Young Girls A Voice - Under The Water | Featured Filmmakers Series
How the Mythical Siren Can Help Young Girls find their voice
Trigger Warning: Please be advised this article contains discussion of harassment and domestic violence
Writer, production designer, and director Isabella Andronos has an impressive list of credits and awards to her name with her work focusing on gender balance, diversity and inclusion and blending the worlds of imagination and reality. “I think I was inspired to be a filmmaker because I love the process of creating, I love collaboration, I love the moving image and I love storytelling. Film is a great combination of all of those things,” she said when I asked what inspired her to become a filmmaker. Her latest short film Under The Water is no exception.
When an eleven-year-old girl is confronted with misogynistic taunts and violence from the boys in her town, a series of strange happenings lead to her revisit a storybook about the sirens of the sea. Inspired by these strange creatures, she finds the power in herself to push back.
Under The Water behind the scenes - Photograph by Lauren Orrell
“The idea for Under the Water came from a process of reflection.” Isabella said, “I found childhood to be a difficult time, particularly with the external forces of men harassing me in public. I can remember this behaviour from when I was as young as eleven. As an adult, things aren’t much better, but I think as a child you have a more limited way of dealing with things. After talking to friends, I realised that sadly everyone seemed to have a story. On the positive side, there seemed to be a point in the lives of women when they would find their power. For me, I was well and truly an adult. Writing this film, I wanted to explore a character whose revelation came earlier in life. I wanted to create a story where a young girl was able to connect into a network of inspiring women (or in the case of the film, sirens), and use that power to make herself heard, to express her anger. Ultimately, the film is about the process of learning to stand up for yourself.” Being a story connected so personally with Isabella’s lived experience I was curious if that had helped or hindered in the development of the final product. “I think it’s great to work from personal experience in filmmaking, but I did find the process quite difficult.” Isabella said, “Initially, I found the story was starting to resemble my own life a little too closely. I didn’t want the film to be my life on screen. I interviewed a lot of people; young girls as well as adults of varied genders. The youngest interviewee, at just 10 years old, spoke about how she had already encountered violence from the boys at her school. While I found it devastating to hear these stories, there was a sense of hope in forming these small communities, finding solace with one another in the open sharing of these stories.”
The film includes some tricky logistical elements in that the central character is a child, most of the film takes place outside, and it includes underwater scenes. Leaning on her collaborators for the project the crew successfully navigated these potential stress points resulting in a beautiful final product. “One of my favourite days on set was shooting at Frog Dive Scuba Centre. We were able to use their dive training pool to create our moody ocean.” Isabella explained, “Our fantastic production designer, Roberto Manzini crafted a fake ocean floor, with seaweed, rocks and sand that had been set with fibreglass. We dressed the pool with blacks to create the sense of a dark, endless ocean. Working with cinematographer Meredith Williams and underwater cinematographer Caleb Graham we were able to light the scene from above the surface and shoot beams of light into the water. Our 11-year-old actor, Tahlia Sturzaker did amazing work, performing in intervals underwater for most of the day.” As filmmakers, on outdoor shoots, we hope for blue skies but alas this isn’t always the reality and for the production team their two-day shoot at North Curl Curl Beach delivered storm clouds and rain. However, they quickly embraced what mother nature had brought and pivoted for an arguably stronger creative output. “Our brilliant First Assistant Director, David Burrowes, was instrumental in finding locations that maintained the creative integrity of the story whilst being undercover.” Isabella said, “Initially, it was scripted that two young boys follow Olivia and yell slurs at her on the beach. Due to the weather, we shot this scene in a dark tunnel area, which ended up working well for the dramatic tension. It made Olivia feel trapped, with nowhere to move.”
The Siren in Under The Water is representative of power so I asked what drew Isabella to the folklore of the mythical creature and why she decided to use it to symbolise female empowerment. “Within my film, the protagonist Olivia is in the liminal space between childhood and adolescence, and I wanted to blur the lines between childhood hope/belief and the devastating brutality of the real world.” Isabella said, “The experience of re-discovering the picture book given to her by her mother helps to guide her in her coming-of-age. Mermaids and sirens are found a lot in children’s media, so I wanted to use the symbolism of their power to connect into the themes of the film. I love the notion that they are these tough, irreverent half-woman, half-fish creatures living in the sea. I find it really interesting that they’re depicted with otherworldly voices and strength, and have the ability to overpower any attackers.”
A key theme throughout Under The Water is the impact of misogyny and domestic violence on girls and women but Isabella’s aim is that the story will provide a sense of hope and community rather than doom and gloom. ”I think films have the power to evoke empathy and understanding and therefore can contribute to larger conversations about domestic violence and misogyny.” she said, “Filmmaking enables creators to share their stories; it is a way of connecting with people and broader audiences. I wanted to shed light on these issues in the hope that other people might relate and find solace in the work. After our premiere at Flickerfest in January 2024, under the moon and in the wild wind with a full audience, I had people write to me and say that they resonated with the film. For me, that was the best possible outcome. I was really happy to know that there were people out there who connected with the story and who felt it represented their own lived experience.”
For Isabella diversity and inclusion are two non-negotiable factors when it comes to creating films and in her own work, she actively pulls together crews that reflect this. “As someone who has worked in the industry for a long time, I’ve been a part of a lot of film crews and have found there is usually a very high percentage of men on set,” she said. Under The Water boasts a majority female crew but that’s not all Isabella aims for. “I’m also thinking about ethnic diversity, disability inclusion and neurodiversity when I’m putting teams together. I think diverse teams lead to great outcomes and it’s important to be mindful of the makeup of teams when you’re putting them together, to make sure that diversity isn’t overlooked.”
Under the Water had its Australian premiere at the 33rd International Flickerfest Short Film Festival in January 2024 and has recently been selected for the Toronto International Women's Film Festival 2024. To stay in the loop with the following screenings follow the film on Instagram and keep an eye on their website.