After being reminded of a deeply buried traumatic event from her past, a seemingly content woman in her thirties realizes the ingenuine nature of her existence, and questions if confronting her past is the only way to move forward with her life. Standing face-to-face with the truth, it becomes unclear whether she can handle it.
Director’s Statement
I had just dealt with a rough breakup prior to writing ‘A Mirror That Was Hidden’. While no one died, we were both erased from each other’s life to be able to go our separate ways, and it came with profound feelings of loss and grief that I channeled into the creation of this film.
The first outline of the story was something much closer to the situation in my own life. As the script progressed through the iterations, it became a more dramatic version of itself – a mother, and her inner battle of coming to terms with losing the absolute dearest to her.
Inspired by the subtle storytelling style of directors such as Andrey Zvyagintsev with ‘Loveless’ and ‘Leviathan’, and Sam Esmail with ‘Mr. Robot’, I strive to create stories that leave room for different interpretations. Finding the sweet spot where you feed the audience just enough to stay curious and engaged without resorting to spoon feeding, is an aspect of filmmaking I love immersing myself with.
I met with Lily during pre-production to discuss her character, and being the mother of a young girl herself, she had a lot to bring to the table when exploring the most genuine emotional development of Lucy. She expressed the daunting aspect of taking on a role like this, which also meant she approached it with the utmost respect and dedication.
As my professional directorial debut, I’m very happy with how it all came together. The fact that we even wrapped before schedule both shoot days is a testament to the great people I surrounded myself with.
Tears have been shed throughout the creation of this film, both in front and behind the lens, and I hope that it will be felt by the audience on some level.