Music video a statement on gendered violence

TWO young female creatives have banded together to comment on the state of violence against women in Australia.

Songwriter, Evie Charleson, who performs under the name Véndetta, spent late last year collaborating with photographer and filmmaker Jett Leduc to create a music video for her song Femicide.

Initially released in August, the song comments on the number of women murdered throughout the country in recent months.

Charleson said the inspiration for the work came from a local event.

“I went to a local march [in April] organised by Sissy Austin and I was very touched and heartbroken, especially by seeing the families of the victims,” she said.

“I felt like the government weren’t really speaking out or doing enough, and I wanted to write a song that hopefully [the families] could hear and be reminded that people do care.”

Charleson credits the idea of creating the video as “a fluke” after posting on social media looking for people to be part of an “angry, feminist music video.”

She received an influx of female interest, including from Leduc, who directed and filmed the project.

Filming took place primarily near the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, with additional shooting done during editing, which was handled between the two key creatives.

“[Jett’s] very professional and is very passionate about the subject too, so she took it very seriously,” Charleson said.

“She performed my ideas very seriously while putting her own ideas on it.

“I think the video’s great because there’s so many girls of different ages in it who all cared about the topic.

“I think it was very important for some scenes where it reflects what women are called, and how they’re treated.”

The all-female cast and crew ranged from 15 to 20 years old.

Charleson said though the Femicide video has been well-received following its release in mid-December, she’s particularly interested at making sure its message is heard by those impacted by the subject matter.

“What I’d really like is for the families of the victims to see it and I hope they feel some sense of people caring and trying to make a difference,” she said.

Charleson and Leduc will collaborate again for the release of the former’s third album later this year.