British photographer and filmmaker Nadia Lee Cohen points a satirical lens at feminine beauty ideals in her stylishly disturbing short—a how-to on what it takes to be beautiful, soundtracked by French rockers La Femme. Here, the London-based director explains the inspiration behind the irresistible project:
"The constant pressure of striving for perfection is so familiar in the world we inhabit. In response to homogeneous ideals of beauty I wanted to create a satirical world in which the female inhabitants have pushed their appearances into cartoonish, melodramatic and extreme representations of femininity; yet are still looking to improve themselves even further.
This is an entirely personal film, which hopefully subtly exposes the cracks beneath the surface; depicted through music, darting eyes beneath masks and subtle wordplay, these features endeavour to puncture an environment that unless scrutinized appears entirely perfect.”