IN PRAISE OF LAINE ELLIOTT

I am Laine Elliott’s biggest fan. I’m sorry but there is no debate to be had here. In September of 2018 I covered their face in ladybugs (see above) and in October of the same year they made me eat a cricket. We have that kind of relationship.

The great joy of my producing career would have been to see their vision of Snapdragon come to life, a film based on their brief stint in a psychiatric ward. New York University has postponed all thesis films for the foreseeable future, which means Laine is now stuck for the next however many months reflecting on their most traumatic experience. It is an unenviable position. We worked very hard to find a psych-ward location that would work within a student film budget. I can’t emphasize enough how difficult it is to convince a hospital, used to television shows paying $25,000 to shoot for one day, to let our ragtag team shoot for five days on a $5,000 budget. Thank god for Madeleine Schumacher.

My favorite film of Laine’s is I’m Glad it Was You. In which Laine and their partner, Nikki both tell the story of how they became a couple.

Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I have never seen a more earnest expression of love than in this film. It’s hard to describe, there’s a truthfulness to it that I had never seen before and haven’t seen since.

In my work there has always been a distinct push and pull between esotericism, sarcasm and sincerity. Laine Elliott has a unique ability to strip away the façade and just show the real, the genuine, the vulnerable. There is one day left to donate to Snapdragon. If you’re seeing this after the deadline, please follow the project.

E.ZX