Award winning project
Within half a year of its premiere, the short film gained popularity and won prestigious awards across film festivals around the world.
- Winner of Emerald Peacock International Film Festival
- Winner of Fox International Film Festival in category Best Director Debut
- Semi-finalist of Sweden Film Award
- Official selection of Venice Shorts
- Official selection of Symbiotic Film Festival
- Official selection of First-Time Filmmaker Session by Lift of Global
- Honorable mention of Indie Online Film Award
The idea behind the project
Videography has always been my passion. Film tells stories and expresses nuances about the human experience in ways that inspire, teach, and challenge us. While my work is primarily client–facing, occasionally I pursue personal projects in which my creativity can run free. Inspired by my love for travel and the many interesting people, each carrying their own burdens and closely holding their own dreams, that one can meet along the way, I wanted to produce a short film that told one of these unique stories.
Setting the film in motion
The first step to getting this idea off the ground was to find a powerful story to share. I wrote to a group of foreigners living in Rome and held open submissions for unique life stories or experiences that the subject would feel comfortable sharing in a short film. There was an overwhelming response— I received around 70 personal biographies. It was extremely difficult to select the final story that would ultimately be shown on screen. After many long nights reading each submission, I decided that the short film would center around the powerful story of Bethanie Ashton.
In 2018, Bethanie was a media presenter working on a project in Mexico when she was sexually assaulted. Weeks later, she learned she was pregnant with twins. This chapter in Bethanie’s life is one of trauma and loneliness, but what follows is one filled with empowerment, activism, and love.
Cruel Beautiful with the world
The production of Cruel Beautiful would not have been possible without the passionate group of filmmakers that came together to create this film. Filming took place over 5 days in Rome and Bethanie played the lead role as herself in Cruel Beautiful. The film premiered in a cinema to around 60 individuals. It was an emotional, but powerful experience seeing Cruel Beautiful come to life on the screen. Bethanie’s story deeply moved the entire crew behind this film and we hope to continue raising awareness around sexual violence as Cruel Beautiful reaches even larger audiences at future film festivals.
