High Ponytails and Homelessness: The Team behind Lacy's World

As the writer and actress of Lacy, nobody understands her more than Abigail. "We live in a world where we take what we see at face value, comparing our insides to others' outsides, without questioning the reality behind it. You can buy a second-hand tracksuit, do a makeup tutorial on TikTok, and present yourself as thriving, but that doesn't mean your home life isn't unstable or that your finances aren't in chaos. For Lacy, appearance is everything - it's her armour. 'As long as I look okay, I've done my hair, I've got my pink jacket, my Juicy tracksuit, my vape - I'm good' But she's not actually good. She's part of the invisible homeless, still managing to maintain the appearance that social media tells her is necessary to be accepted. Her priorities are skewed, shaped by an impossible measuring stick, where looking the part feels just as urgent as survival itself."

Beyond the visual aspect, music had a large part to play in influencing our perception of her but also our own emotions as viewers. Lois, Aphra and Abigail were all equally involved in choosing the tracks we hear throughout the film. Getting clearance for music was an uphill battle, but in the true spirit of the importance of network that Lois earlier highlighted, they were able to collaborate with artists they already knew to make songs for the film. A notable mention is Albertina who featured Lacy in a previous music video / mini movie, Footballers.

Among all the moving parts that make the film what it is, nothing stands out more than the comedy that is Lacy’s hallmark. We see it in LACY_AUDITION.TAPE_COCKTAILVILLA.MP4 and all over her dedicated Instagram. It’s impossible not to get sucked into her world of jokes and delusion that she indulges in as a self defence mechanism while enduring tough situations. The portrayal of her inner turmoil makes for a positively jarring viewing experience in the sense we are reminded what the film is about whenever we get too carried away by laughing at Lacy’s antics. Keeping a balance in between maintaining Lacy’s comedic nature and the seriousness of the topic at hand is something that was handled with care from script to screen as a way for the team to stay conscious of making sure not to lose sight of the message. The poignancy of the film’s climax is brought on by a stunning performance by Abigail through her ability to seamlessly switch in between the painful moment of Lacy realising that she is homeless and then immediately breaking through the serious moment to put her ‘armour’ back on by asking to take a selfie – further highlighting Lacy’s constant displays of delusion as a self-defence mechanism. Abigail’s view of what causes that particular moment of vulnerability from Lacy is “…it’s the kindness. She’s so used to harshness, that as soon as someone is gentle with her, it gives her the safety to [experience] the moment.” The scene also serves as a way to draw the audience’s attention back to the core message of the film. “Lacy doesn’t realise that she’s homeless until that moment and the audience don’t really [realise] either because of her outward projection of herself. It was really smart how Abigail wrote that. It was very revealing of the audience’s bias towards [homelessness],” Aphra said.

After conducting these interviews, I don’t think it’s too controversial to say that Lacy’s World turned out the way it did because it is essentially shown through the female gaze. Regardless of the gender of a character or the nature of a storyline, it’s easy to tell the difference of when a story is made by a woman or a man. I don’t subscribe to the idea that women are overly emotional, but I do believe that the empathy that is nurtured in them from a young age gives them the ability to portray female characters as multi-dimensional in a way that male filmmakers fail to do. The core team of women came together organically but they created an open and collaborative environment that further strengthened their vision and led them to deciding that the concept of “Lacy should never be left alone in the room with a man”.

Littered throughout those hidden conversations and ‘off the record’ moments, I felt a strong sense of camaraderie between the team. The final question I asked each woman was, “What was your favourite moment in the filming process?”, they essentially had the same answer. The ability to create in safe environment with open communication and collaboration. In setting out to create a space to showcase their art, they’ve opened doors for themselves and other women in the film space to see what can be achieved when you’ve got a good community. It’s about growing together and growing each other. This is just the start. Remember their names.