Emily Lawson's 'Man Eating Pussy' Questions Perspectives on Sexuality, Mortality, and Femininity.

      Writer-director Emily Lawson understands that the title of her acclaimed short film "Man Eating Pussy" is both "evocative and even profane."

      "SXSW used an asterisk," Lawson notes regarding the 12-minute film, which received the SXSW Midnight Short Special Jury Award at this year’s event.

      The film explores a meeting between sex worker Kitty (Grace Glowicki) and her client, Freddie (Julian Richings), a man searching for a distinct experience at the twilight of his life. Audiences may presume there is little left to speculate about with a title like "Man Eating Pussy," based on the premise, but they would be mistaken.

      The film's initial surprise: Kitty’s face is a vulva. Or, as Lawson describes it, she is “the literal personification of pussy.”

      “She’s as much an object visually as one could make a female character – embodying female objectification, yet she transcends that," Lawson explains.

      Kitty's depiction disrupts the horror trope that female characters are merely passive objects meant to suffer for others’ entertainment. As someone who has acted in various horror films, Lawson sought to provide a different experience from the common “crying and screaming and dying” found on many horror sets.

      “The concept of creating a horror film that’s distinctly different, perhaps one that wears the guise of a horror film — that’s a very horror way to phrase it — that functions within the aesthetics of body horror, but treats its female characters in a significantly different manner… that was truly exhilarating for me,” Lawson shares.

      Emily Lawson on Creating Kitty for ‘Man Eating Pussy’

      Writer-director Emily Lawson, seen on the set of "Man Eating Pussy."

      The film's inception was partly due to initial R&D funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.

      “When proposing an idea about a woman with a vulva for a face, the immediate reaction is often, ‘I can’t visualize that. I don’t think it’s feasible.’ Therefore, you must demonstrate that it can indeed be done,” Lawson states.

      Lawson was aware of skilled prosthetic designers who excel in bringing the unimaginable to life. After collaborating with prosthetics designer Monica Pavez on a prior horror film, she reached out to her and Alexandra Anger of Black Spot FX to see if they would be interested in the project. Pavez and Anger have worked on notable films like David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future and The Shrouds, as well as the TV series Slasher and The Last of Us, along with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, among various other projects.

      “Working with a team that has experience with anatomical, visceral, and tactile projects—especially in the context of Cronenberg films—seemed like a logical choice,” Lawson remarks.

      Lawson recalls showcasing her initial model draft to the team, which featured a live casting of a vulva on an armature. Pavez adapted the concept into various iterations of Kitty's vulva-head, experimenting with both floral and monstrous styles before settling on the design used in the film.

      “Your mind examines the prosthetic, continually toggling between seeing it as an object and as a face, creating a strange sense of the uncanny,” Lawson explains.

      Once the design was finalized, adjustments needed to be made for Glowicki, who donned the prosthetic as Kitty. The original model placed excessive weight on Glowicki’s neck and fully enclosed her in silicone, inhibiting her ability to see or hear, leaving only a tiny space for breathing. Lawson was committed to ensuring Glowicki's comfort while performing in the prosthetic.

      The completed design of Kitty’s prosthetic featured a harness to alleviate neck strain, along with detachable pieces that used magnetic closures for improved visibility and airflow.

      “It was crucial, to align with the notion of treating female characters in horror films differently, to ensure that it was comfortable for her during performance,” Lawson states.

      The final prosthetic consisted of lightweight silicone pieces for natural movement, lubricated silicone labial folds, and an animatronic clitoris “eye” capable of blinking at varying speeds.

      The “eye” in “Man Eating Pussy.” Courtesy of the filmmaker.

      Kitty’s dialogue in the film correlates with movements of the inner labia, which were animated post-production by Sayer VFX, with Scott Riopelle as VFX supervisor, who previously contributed to Crimson Peak and The Boys. Lawson expresses that the film would not have been possible without the support of the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, and the National Film Board of Canada, along with an equipment grant from the Panavision New Filmmaker Program.

      “I am immensely grateful,” Lawson adds. “It still astonishes me that all these funding bodies supported this unique, transgressive film.”

      Lawson aspires for audiences to leave with a contemplative perspective on Kitty and, more broadly, on the essence of womanhood.

      “We