Award-winning, London-based director and screenwriter Eva Lanska will soon unveil the script for her new drama feature I Am Not An Actress, inspired by the public life and animal rights advocacy of French screen icon Brigitte Bardot.
“Over the years, Madame Bardot has been frequently covered in the French and global media for her strong opinions,” says Lanska. “In some ways, I’m writing a script inspired by her life so that both her critics and admirers can better understand her and her activism.”
Personally inspired by Bardot’s life since childhood, Lanska has been shepherding this passion project since 2008. As an animal rights activist herself, Lanska draws from public aspects of Bardot’s life, whose priority she notes is “always to defend the rights of animals.”
“Brigitte Bardot is a unique personality,” says Lanska. “She has inspired and continues to inspire many artists around the world, but my film is not only about Bardot, it’s about all of us.”
Lanska’s script is almost completed, and she says it will likely not be a biopic about the iconic actress, even if Bardot gives the project her blessing, because it includes composite characters. Lanska’s primary narrative aims to raise awareness of two major current social problems – harassment and toxic masculinity in the film industry and animal abuse around the world.
“This film is primarily about how the harsh world of showbiz often ignores the fact that behind the female body, there is a delicate, fragile soul that is easy to break. It is dedicated to all women who have suffered from discrimination in the workplace,” adds Lanska.
Lanska is currently in negotiations with major film production companies in the United States and Europe to finance and distribute.
After graduating from the London Film Academy, Lanska has focused on producing both documentary and fiction films. She has directed several award-winning films recognized throughout Europe and America.
Across her films, Lanska studies the concepts of acceptance and love in challenging circumstances. She poses pressing questions to direct her audience to reflect on the choices to be made, putting themselves in the shoes of her protagonists.
Her previous film, Little French Fish, starring British actors Jonas Khan and Devora Wilde, draws attention to the global stigma against interracial marriages through the relationship of an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim man.
In 2020, Little French Fish was selected by one of the world’s oldest and largest Jewish festivals, the Washington Jewish Film Festival. Lanska’s previous picture Okay, Mum, won Best Picture at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was selected for the Short Film Corner at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
Art, literature, cinematography, the Parisian lifestyle and ambiance have been significant influences and inspiration sources throughout her work. Lanska is also actively involved in child protection movements and continues to bring awareness to alarming social issues through her films.
