Claire Edmondson is a filmmaker. She was born in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and grew up in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Career

In February 2011,

Austra Austra is an island on the border between Trøndelag and Nordland counties in Norway. The island is shared between the municipalities of Bindal, Leka, and Nærøysund Nærøysund is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is locat ...

released their first music video "Beat and the Pulse" directed by Edmondson. The dark, sexy video featured women of different shapes and sizes, some with (silicon) mutations dancing in a dark basement after-hours type space.The video for "Beat and the Pulse" that was censored by

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Full of topless dancers, the video showcases a woman in control of her sexuality.

Sweetest Kill video and controversy

The music video for

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the oth ...

's Sweetest Kill (June 2011), A dark take on love gone wrong, the video featured

Bijou Phillips Bijou Lilly Phillips Masterson (born April 1, 1980) is an American actress, model and singer. The daughter of musician John Phillips and Geneviève Waïte, she began her career as a model. Phillips made her singing debut with '' I'd Rather Ea ...

lovingly chopping up her boyfriend and burying him in a rose garden. Certain critics wrote of its importance. The Sweetest Kill video was banned in Canada. "The video was in part funded by MuchFACT, a production fund provided by Canadian music television stations MuchMusic and

MuchMore M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic wit ...

, though both stations ended up banning it due to its content." Edmondson was quoted as saying "After that video a lot of videos came out with dudes killing people and no one was disturbed by them. But because he Sweetest Kill videowas a feminine take on killing, it really disturbed people." Broken Social Scene's "Sweetest Kill" and Austra's "Beat and the Pulse" were named 2 of the top ten NSFW (not suitable for work) videos of 2011 by Stereogum. "Claire Edmondson, the director, also did Broken Social Scene's "Sweetest Kill" video, proving that she can do a few entirely different forms of disturbing." Edmondson collaborated with Austra again, making a film protesting

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

's imprisonment of the band

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...

. In the film, Stelmanis sets herself on fire in protest. The film was shown at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

as a part of the inaugural NOW program.

Commercial work

Everlast's 'I'm a Boxer' video was released in January 2015. Edmonsen made the video as a response to sexism in sports". Everlast recently launched their new ad which follows a young female boxer into the ring, aiming to destroy

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

in the sport. While talking about the sexism in the advertising industry she stated: "If men can direct

tampon A tampon is a menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Once inserted correctly, a tampon is held in ...

commercials surely women can direct beer commercials". In 2016 Edmondson was shortlisted for a Young Director Award in the category, Broadcast, Northern America on Leo Burnett's "Own It" campaign for

Special K Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondson, Claire Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian music video directors