Ana Francis
Unhappy working in a Prague sex club, Anna found an ad for escort work in Ireland promising better pay and a luxurious lifestyle. But once there, she discovered the harsh realities of the Irish escort industry.
Three years after leaving sex work, Anna returns to Ireland to retrace her steps. With sharp wit and raw honesty, she reflects on her experience—offering a rare, nuanced glimpse into the Irish sex industry. As she revisits the places that once defined her, Anna’s story becomes a lens through which we examine the cultural taboos and legal contradictions surrounding sex work in Ireland.
With Love, Elis is a raw and intimate short documentary that challenges stigma and reveals the human truth behind a world often hidden in shame.
With Love, Elis aims to shine a light on the often-hidden world of sex work in Ireland through the raw and reflective voice of a former escort. This short documentary seeks to humanise an experience frequently reduced to stereotype, offering a nuanced and emotionally resonant portrait of life within the Irish sex industry. As Anna revisits the places where she once worked, the audience is right there with her—guided by her candid reflections and refreshing perspective. Her observations challenge deep-rooted cultural taboos and expose the legal contradictions faced by sex workers in Ireland today. Driven by a commitment to ethical storytelling, empathy, and social impact, the film uses personal narrative as a powerful lens to spark broader dialogue around the social and cultural stigma surrounding sex work.
How ‘the male gaze’ in cinema has bled from the silver screen and seeped into our phone screens, where it has engulfed social media, perpetuating the increased use of plastic surgery by the female audience.
Over the past decade, the rise of social media has coincided with a surge in plastic surgery among young women. This investigation explores the connection between increased online exposure and the growth of the plastic surgery industry, using Laura Mulvey’s concepts of the ‘male gaze’ and ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’ from Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema to analyse contemporary social media use. It argues that platforms like Instagram and TikTok, shaped by patriarchal structures, intensify the pressure to modify one’s appearance.
Drawing on case studies, surveys, and visual analysis, the study examines the psychological, social, and physical impacts of social media on self-image. It also explores the role of influencers and plastic surgery marketing in popularising trends like the ‘Instagram face’ and the ‘uncanny valley’ effect. Topics such as virtual idealisation, body dysmorphia, and the influence of filters are addressed, culminating in a call for greater regulation of cosmetic marketing to combat the ethical and societal implications of digital beauty standards.
Ana Francis is a Director/Producer based in Dublin, specialising in documentary filmmaking. Her work explores universal cultural and social themes through an intimate and raw lens. Blending factual observation with poetic storytelling, Ana’s style fuses realism with emotion, aiming to evoke a deep sense of human connection in the audience. She approaches both her subjects and their stories with humour, authenticity and nuance, creating films that are thought-provoking and profoundly personal.
Ana brings this same philosophy to her work across all projects she works on—whether in music videos, TV dramas, live broadcasts, or more experimental films that she has produced and directed. Human connection remains at the heart of her storytelling.
