When screenwriter and director Claire Ayoub found out her first feature film, “Empire Waist,” won Empowerment Film and Social Impact Film awards at the Sedona International Film Festival, she had something very different on her mind.
“I was at the tail-end of a very stressful three weeks rescuing a sweet, abandoned dog off the street in Brooklyn, NY, and trying to find him a safe place to land,” she remembers. “I named him Wonder for his resilience and love of people and other dogs despite what he had been through.”
Ayoub’s quest to find a home for Wonder serves as a powerful metaphor for her mission as a writer and director in general. In many ways, making “Empire Waist” required her to make a home not only for others but also for herself.
A painful story to write
“Empire Waist” tells the story of a girl who is a brilliant clothing designer but doesn’t feel worthy of wearing anything she makes. When her talents are discovered by her confident and plus-sized classmate at school, she begins designing clothes for other girls of all shapes, sizes, and abilities who are struggling to find clothes that fit. While this empowering comedy about learning to love oneself might be easy to watch, it was far from easy for Ayoub to write, much less direct.
“While I don’t have her skills with a sewing machine, that lack of worthiness about following her dreams due to her weight is something I felt keenly from elementary school until well into my twenties,” Ayoub explains. “My first draft essentially ripped the trauma out of me, and even though my managers at the time were very excited about the script, I ended up putting the project away for four years, quitting comedy, and going into therapy to work through these deep issues that had surfaced. I also came out as gay during that time. It was liberating not to keep this secret and shame weighing so heavily on my shoulders. At my core, I knew I couldn’t tell other people to love themselves if I couldn’t do it.”
Many offers came in to buy the script, which was listed as the #1 Comedy on the screenwriting platform The Black List. Ayoub turned them all down, however, and knew she needed to direct it herself.
Creating a safe and respectful set
Creating a groundbreaking film required a revolutionary approach to filmmaking. “I wanted to ensure the cast and crew who brought this story to life were well-supported to handle triggering material related to body image,” Ayoub explains. “During my five-year full-time journey of making this film, I shared this with everyone involved: ‘This can be the most beautiful film we’ve ever seen on-screen, but if I know it was a nightmare behind the scenes, I’ll consider that my own personal failure.’”
Knowing how much psychological work writing the script had demanded of her, Ayoub appreciated how difficult playing these roles would be. That’s why she set safety and inclusivity as her primary priorities.
“As a director, it’s my job to look out for my cast and crew by ensuring their physical and emotional safety, and by creating an environment of mutual respect so they can do their jobs without fear,” Ayoub says. “That is a standard my producer and creative partner Crystal Collins and I set from the get-go, and we hired brilliant department heads who were aligned with our mission to create a safe and supportive set for all team members, regardless of seniority. That safe space was especially vital for our cast and crew during tough scenes about body image and self-esteem.”
Casting the movie also required Ayoub to take a novel approach.
A new approach to casting
“I knew that the range of bodies, backgrounds, and abilities represented in the script wasn’t going to be easy to find at agencies, especially the two leads I wanted to be size 18+ and size 24+,” Ayoub says. “We even got pushback from agencies, suggesting we ‘rewrite the roles.’ Instead of doing that, we led a nationwide casting call to find our core group of teen girls, also known as the Fashion Squad.”
Casting Director Rori Bergman and her team received over 3,500 applications in a few days. “The sheer amount of unrepresented talent out there, especially in terms of the plus-sized actors and disabled actors who we met, was staggering,” Ayoub remembers. “That nationwide casting call was how we met our lead Kayla, played by Jemima Yevu, as well as our Fashion Squad member Diamond, played by Kassandra Tellez. Knowing that kids, teens, and adults will see a true range of bodies represented on-screen is a powerful thing.”
Ayoub’s efforts have paid off with a truly unique movie that gives refuge to women and girls of all ages.
A series of wonderful events
Earlier this year, Ayoub received an email saying “Empire Waist” had gotten into the Annapolis Film Festival and would not only be screened for the general public but also for hundreds of students as part of their Education Day. That same day, she found Wonder the stray dog and sent appeals out on her social media accounts to try to get him a foster home.
About three weeks later, Wonder was adopted. Within the next 24 hours, Ayoub found out her movie had won the Sedona International Film Festival awards.
“Getting to share the news about Wonder’s adoption and this incredible win at Sedona was something I’ll never forget,” she says. “It was especially powerful to share this win with our cast and crew, who were so deeply invested in our message of self-love and were fully on board with our mission to create a safe and respectful set as we brought this story to life.”
In making “Empire Waist,” Ayoub has made a movie that feels like coming home. It will be released worldwide later this year through Blue Fox Entertainment. Thanks to Gillette Venus and Procter & Gamble, a free educational curriculum will be offered alongside the film to continue audiences’ conversations about body image and self-confidence. To keep abreast of the film’s updates, subscribe on its website and follow it on Instagram at @empirewaistfilm.
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