Over the course of my undergraduate career studying film and television, I have developed a keen interest in writing and creating horror media, within film and beyond. I am particularly interested in themes of technology and its deep roots within our everyday lives, as well as gender and body horror.
Outside of academic work, I also work with pixel-art and interactive media, inspired by point-and-click games of the 90's and 00's. Examples of my other work can be found on my portfolio website.
Following the completion of my undergraduate degree, I intend to continue working in the horror genre, remaining within film, but also branching out to narrative games and immersive media.
Originally from Minnetonka, Minnesota, I am currently based in Edinburgh.
Stella Segar
Bio
GESTARE
GESTARE (pronounced “jest-ar-ray”) is my graduation film for my undergraduate program at ECA. The title comes from the latin verb gestare, “to bear” or “to carry”.
The project is a short reproductive horror film, written and directed by myself, with a talented crew of other ECA students from multiple departments and years.
GESTARE follows a young woman living in a fringe religious cult. One day, it is decided that she is carrying the group’s future prophet, and is forced to carry the pregnancy to term. However, not all is as it seems.
ABOUT GESTARE
I was originally inspired to wrote this film after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in the United States in the summer of 2022. Since the 1970's Roe had protected the right to access an abortion across the country, and its removal put the fate of Americans' access to reproductive healthcare in a state of uncertainty. In less than a year, we have seen numerous consequences of this decision -- children being forced to give birth, individuals being forced to carry dangerous and traumatic, non-viable pregnancies to term, and miscarriages being investigated as a criminal act.
Of course, the erosion of reproductive rights is not unique to the United States; it is a global issue. Even in Scotland, "pro-life" groups and ideologies have rooted themselves, most recently in the fight on buffer zones for abortion clinics in Scotland. The idea of a buffer zone is essentially that anti-abortion protestors must remain a certain distance from reproductive healthcare clinics, thus allowing patients to enter safely and without harassment.
The idea of a parasitic monster came from watching one of my favorite episodes of The X-Files, "The Host", wherein a human-parasitic worm hybrid reproduces by biting its victims, thereby transferring its larvae through the bite. The larvae then mature within their host, and emerge when they have reached an adult stage, killing the unwitting host.
While writing this film, I was particularly inspired by David Lynch and David Cronenberg, in particular, Lynch's use of music and surrealism and Cronenberg's famous use of body horror. Additionally, the 1981 film Possession by Andrzej Żuławski influenced the direction of the film, as it explores female rage and surrealist aesthetics.
PROJECT COLLABORATORS
Director of Photography - Dylan Starr-Adams
Worm Designer - Sorin Bath
Production Manager - Martha Roseweir
1st Assistant Director - Hana Kudryavtseva
2nd Assistant Director - Emily Zheng
1st Assistant Camera - Anastasia Wang
Production Designer - Suyin Smee
Health and Wellbeing Coordinator - Robyn Higgins
Sound Recordist, Sound Designer, and Music - Nicola Rivosecchi
Boom Operator - Astrid Chen
Script Supervisor - Mendii Bala
2nd Unit DOP - Will Lindsay-Perez
2nd Unit AC - Hao Dou, Jude O'Connor
Art Assistants - Tegan Chaffer, Star Gu, Naiwen Jiang, Cynthia Wu
Costumers - Alice Courtney, Emilie Norris, Ella Tustin
SFX Artists - Liwen Chen, Jacob Yu
Digital Imaging Technician - Jack McGregor
Editor and Colourist - Irene Sánchez Martos
Stills Photographer - Louis Hudd
Runners - Elissa Hunter-Dorans, Jude O'Connor, Aiqin Wang, Elle Willcocks, Claire Zhu
STILLS
BEHIND THE SCENES
Stella Segar
