Ella Murphy is an experimental documentary filmmaker from Drogheda, Co.Louth. She has always had an interest in documenting real-life experiences and being able to capture the beauty of the human spirit on camera. She has directed several short documentaries throughout her years studying at The National Film School with the hope to continue directing in the future.
Mistaken Ideas of Freedom is an archival documentary piece I created last year. Archive is one of my favourite mediums to work with as I love the challenge of piecing together clips that fit with the story I'm trying to tell. This film reflects much of my thoughts throughout the course of the Covid-19 lockdowns, the brutally honest outlook humans have on the world we live in today.
Ella's dissertation is an exploration of Chris Marker as the fundamental muse of the essay film. Documenting the restrictive nature and reflections of society through his work. With films such as Sans Soleil, La Jetee and Statues Also Die, that highlight the sometimes cruel yet always somewhat beautiful world we live in. Marker never hid any part of the society he viewed as correct in his films, regardless of how disturbing or uncomfortable it would make the audience feel. There were no limitations, whether the film would be banned in certain countries at the end, it was still going to be made the way Marker wanted it to be.