RUBY PHELAN
Writer-Director
Ruby grew training as a professional dancer, she studied at The Northern School of Contemporary Dance, worked throughout Europe as a choreographer and then pivoted to the Fontainebleau School of Acting in France. She received a scholarship on the MA at RADA where she honed her craft as a Writer-Director and fell in love with expressing her unique stories through cinema.
Ruby’s first short film THE MERMAID & THE ARTIST won many awards across the globe, was nominated at The Cannes Short Film Festival, won best film at Rome short film festival, featured on BBC Radio 4 and was included in an extended interview on The Girls on Film Podcast.
Her second film THIS GIRL LOST HER BODY won awards at BIFA qualifying Unrestricted View Film Festival and had its official premiere in New York City 2022.
Ruby was Director’s Assistant on Season 5 of Emmy Award Winning Netflix series THE CROWN, and directed two sold-out London stage productions HONEYPOT at The Other Palace Theatre, and GLASSBOY at The Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill.
In 2023, Ruby wrote her debut feature film VIPER with the support of the award winning June & Stella Productions. This year, she finished her residency at The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice where she made her third short film THE WOMAN IN THE WARDROBE. This film is produced by BAFTA- nominated and BIFA-winning Cheri Darbon of June & Stella Productions. The pair have teamed up with the UNFPA to fundraise for birthing kits to be sent to labouring women and health professionals in warzones. Ruby is represented by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates.
THIS GIRL LOST HER BODY
This tale of growing up comes in the form of a grizzly adult storybook. An uncomfortable dance with womanhood and exploration of feminine body politics takes place in the depths of the woods when a girl stumbles upon a creature who proceeds to steal and inhabit her body. Suver Nuver's distorted coming of age fable is created by director Ruby Phelan in collaboration with a whole host of exceptional collaborators in a variety of fields. This is Ruby's second live action short where she aims to boldly explore childhood fantasy in conjunction with the modern issues of female bodily control.
THE MERMAID
&
THE ARTIST
This award winning short film directed, written, edited and produced by Ruby Phelan won 'Best Experimental film' at The Rome Independent Prisma Awards as well as being nominated for 'Best Young director' at Belfast film festival, 'Best Female Director' at Cannes Indie Short Film Festival and 'Best Short Film' at The Rameshwaram Film Festival in India. Whilst on her covid friendly bedroom press tour Ruby was also interviewed on the 'Girls on Film Podcast', 'Radio Reverb' and had a featured section in 'The Brightonian Magazine'. Ruby also conducted a live online premiere so she could share interviews with the cast & crew, behind the scenes footage and of course the film itself with a wide international audience from across the globe. The film questions the male gaze within art and the female body as an objectified muse. When a lonely artist falls in love with a mermaid and becomes obsessed with capturing her image we see him spiral into a world of dreams, fantasy and longing. All the while his 'muse' forms her own opinion of the situation and things become very nasty indeed. This stunningly bold debut combines Ruby's live action storytelling with her hand drawn illustrations and delves into the origins of folklore seaside tales but with a fresh subversion.
CONTACT
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https://www.casarotto.co.uk/clients/ruby-phelan
Please contact Elinor Burns & Nina Amini for work enquiries
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