Untold Expectations

By Sue Najm & Caitlin Chase

There’s an untold story behind every woman.

“Untold Expectations” explores stories from different women in New York City struggling with expectations, living in the city and society’s standards.

There’s a heavy expectation of women in our society and we wanted to make a short film that empowered them. Whether it be a story about the train ride home or being catcalled, we’ve realized there’s much more to the city than what’s being televised.

Process

I want to create films that empower and educate people about topics such as sexual assault and catcalling, Islamophobia, discrimination, foster care and more. I scheduled interviews over the course of a month that lasted about 40 minutes each. I ultimately interviewed over 20 women from all parts of NYC to ask them about their experiences and perspectives on womanhood. When editing, I had to choose which way I wanted the film to go, so I cut it down to about 10 women to make sure the story was clear. I also added scenes from when I was filming in the city.

Caitlin and I collaborated on developing questions for the interviews, from “What is it like being a woman in New York City?” to “How would you define strength in a woman?” We then created a strategy for scheduling the interviews together. Caitlin also helped with finding women to interview and recruited her friends to be interviewed. She also gave advice on the editing aspect and was interviewed herself. –Sue Najm