Cadence Films recently released Connected – a short film directed by Luke Gilford that grapples with Southern California’s image of perfection in a cyber-social society. Starring Pamela Anderson, Dree Hemingway and featuring Jane Fonda, the film combines stylish visuals with a narrative that explores identity and futurism in a world longing for connectedness, albeit it virtual.
Connected is a portrait of Jackie, poignantly played by Anderson, as a woman grappling with aging, self-perception and transformation in a technologically advanced world. With a voiceover by Fonda as Jackie’s wellness guru, the film illustrates Jackie’s search for self-improvement and her desire to feel connected – to herself, to her future and to a precarious sense of perfection.
“With Connected, I wanted to explore issues of self-perception and body modification in the age of social media,” said Gilford. “I knew that I wanted the project to surround an iconic sex symbol in the tradition of Marilyn Monroe or Brigitte Bardot. I’m fascinated by the level of mystery and mythology that surrounds these women. Their allure rests mainly on the surface, and that begs me to wonder what lies beneath.”
“I explained to Pamela that I wanted to bring forth a vulnerable performance, and to raise questions about our relationship to beauty, aging and technology,” Gilford explained. “For me Pamela is also an archetype of California culture, which is at once obsessed with the shallowness of youth and beauty, as well as the more existential search for self-help, wellness and rehabilitation.”
