The post-lockdown unravelling of a rising fringe-theatre-star rediscovering and documenting their own artistic/autistic process. Set against the backdrop of the Kent coast with her one-person, two-cat crew, striving to flourish through tiffs and meltdowns, Andrea’s unexpected biopic is made mostly of outtakes, a tender and funny acceptance of inadequacy. Commissioned by CASA Festival 2020.

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The Process

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Isla/Island began as a mockumentary in response to Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift’s biopics. Amused by the idea of documenting themself, a rising fringe-theatre-star, with the same commitment as these pop stars, Andrea began to question: who is allowed this kind of attention?

 

Commencing filming at the time of lockdown unravelling, Andrea quickly realised that the most compelling footage was where they looked the most absurd or embarrassing, and therefore the most real. This formed the basis of the process: a documentary dance, between the artist and their partner, who dared to put the camera on and keep recording at the most vulnerable, as well as the most fun, moments. When edited together, it became a biopic of mostly outtakes.

 

The questions within: am I successful? Am I an artist? Do I deserve this kind of attention? cannot be definitively answered. Other than, perhaps, by Andrea’s mother, who co-stars with devastating beauty.

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