It isn’t easy keeping up with mainstream expectations and now, thanks to the Internet, the pressure to meet certain standards bears down on women of all ages, 24/7. With our culture becoming increasingly sexualized on a widespread level, documentary filmmakers Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus opt to address the issue from a far more intimate standpoint, putting the focus on three women at very different stages of life, but all still feeling and reacting to the need to be seen in a certain light.
We’ve got Winnifred, a 12-year-old middle school student who is wise beyond her years, but still feels the pressure to appease peers’ expectations on Facebook. Then there’s Laura, a 22-year-old kindergarten teacher willing to endure labiaplasty to ensure she’s attractive everywhere and also Nichole (aka Nakita Kash), a former porn star teaching pole dancing classes with hopes of starting a family.
Bauer and Gradus may have been filmmaking novices, but the pair knew they isolated a subject worth exploring, so took the plunge, found their characters and assembled “Sexy Baby.” After a successful festival run with packed theaters and strong reviews, Bauer and Gradus still strive to keep the dialogue flowing through a digital and VOD release. With an education-specific distribution effort on the horizon, Bauer and Gradus sat down to discuss what it took to make their first feature a reality, the challenge of narrowing down the vast amount of research, their hopes for “Sexy Baby’s” future and more.
Check out the interview below and find out where you can watch “Sexy Baby” right now over at the film’s official website.
Click here to check out “Sexy Baby” on iTunes.
