Interview: Floored Directors Marchelle Bradanini & Emily Alpren On Feminism & Capitalism

Floored is a 10-minute long short film where we follow an award-winning actress, Eleanor Williams, as she comes to the realization that her glory-days are over and she probably has to put all her focus on being a mom. However, a pelvic floor session with her instructor and friends completely changes her perspective and she comes to the realization that she has to take some drastic steps to enjoy life the way she wants to. I sat down for a virtual chat with co-directors Marchelle Bradanini and Emily Alpren about their short film, womanhood, and late-stage capitalism.

Film Fugitives: How did you come up with the concept of Floored and what was the process of evolving into this short film?

Marchelle Bradanini: Emily and I were having one of many existential conversations about modern life which often center about our struggles and absurdities as women and motherhood. 

Emily Alpren: Frustrations that day were peak (laughs) – and I thought: we have a universe of talented actors – let’s put them in one location and explore pain. 

Marchelle Bradanini: And then Emily just stream-of-consciousness narrated the entire script in one go. 

FF: The first thing that catches the viewer’s eye is the bright and colorful aesthetic established by the set and the clothes. What was the thought-process behind creating that look?

Marchelle: As we are playing with satire, we wanted to heighten the emotions visually as well. I’ve always loved filmmakers like Lynch, Almodovar, and Russ Meyer for their use of color, even when it becomes garish and even confrontational. 

Emily: We understood the visual world immediately: an opulent artifice of color and texture concealing a fragile interior. Just like our characters. The question was how to achieve it on a short independent film budget. Marchelle is a brilliant visual. And she’s cheap.  She’s like: I’ll take the wardrobe. I didn’t think she’d have the bandwidth. It’s the last time I’ll ever doubt her. 

FF: The line of babies coupled with Eleanor’s pain, which’s then followed by Steven not interacting with any of the kids, immediately establishes the family dynamic. Do you think this method of burdening women with babies so that they can’t grow as much as their male counterparts is getting more and more prevalent nowadays? If so, why?

Marchelle: I wouldn’t call so much of a burden but often a bi-product of a capitalist society that quantitatively values men’s work more. This is most apparent in the world of entertainment and how women’s bodies even in 2026 are acceptable fodder for public discourse. 

Emily: The intersection of capitalism, evolution and women’s lib is some real juice that underscores the lives of most women I know. Whether they have children or not. Frankly, I think the greatest burden is that men fail to recognize the burden. 

FF: The confession scene, where Eleanor’s friends are talking about their daily hurdles, seems comedic initially, but the undertone of sadness becomes more prominent with each anecdote. Is that to show how women’s issues are trivialized even within close-knit circles? If so, what do you think can fix that?

Marchelle. Wow. What a great question and I wish I knew the answer! There’s so much to women’s biology that remains a mystery (hello perimenopause, PMS, etc.) or even what we are told to expect physically following childbirth can be a bit of a surprise. So much so that I feel like women are often embarrassed to share their quiet pain or don’t want to burden others. A lot of traditional medicine dismisses women’s pain. 

Emily: I love trivializing my pain. 

Marchelle: She does.

Emily: From the moment we are 12, trying to focus in Algebra class with menstrual cramps radiating through our little bodies, we’re given the roadmap to life.  

FF: The exchanges between your actors are so snappy and engaging. How much was it dependent on your writing and how much did it depend on the actors’ chemistry with each other?

Emily. I mean, we have a brilliant ensemble of comedic actors. They just made the writing better.

Marchelle: There was one line where Jocelyn DeBoer was improvising about the thing that was vexing her most. 

Emily: We used her “My pool is empty” take but she had about 30 other alt takes that left us weeping in laughter. 

FF: Floored naturally builds up to a jealousy-fueled confrontation between Eleanor and Saddle. What was the thought process behind the plot twist though?

Marchelle: Ooh. Back to my favorite current topic of late-stage capitalism. I think we as a society and especially women are often told there’s only so much pie to go around and when someone gets more, that’s less for you. This places us in perpetual state of competition and scarcity mindset. 

Emily: Yes, and it’s a lie. It’s all a lie. Floored in its conception and execution is a love letter to the feminine divine. It was born with a desire to uplift women in our community. We were coming off the strikes, Sheila (Carrasco) literally just had a baby, our community was overflowing with talent, energy and desire. 

Marchelle: Women have an abundant capacity for love and empathy and looking after one another.  

FF: The music plays an important part in amplifying the themes and overall tone of the film. What was the process behind perfecting that?

Marchelle: I have a music background and played in a band for years with our composer Amy Ileen Wood. Amy is a brilliant drummer and percussionist, and the music coupled with Fiona (Apple’s) vocal delivery really pulsates with an urgency and playful chaos that matches the film’s tone perfectly. 

FF: The pelvic floor therapy scene goes through quickly. How did you pick which methods you wanted to show in the film? And are there any methods you wanted to show but couldn’t? 

Emily: Lol, we called that the dance scene. We flirted with showing each woman’s personal journey, but since we shot in a day and a quarter, it wasn’t realistic. I would have loved to lean into the different methods of pelvic floor rehabilitation and watch the characters reconnect to their bodies.

FF: What are some of your favorite movies, shows, or books that deal with the unseen issues of women? And why?

Marchelle: Definitely Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence starring his wife, Gena Rowlands. It’s such a brutal, honest portrayal. 

Emily: Ugh. So, good. I just listened to Lynn Ramsey – one of my favorite directors – discussing A Woman Under the Influence as a nice double feature with her latest Die My Love. Pop a paperback of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening under the seats and you’ve got a night: unseen in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Marchelle: Pedro Almodovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown for its absurdist comedy and how he explores pathos through his many female-centric universes. 

Emily: Mulholland Drive. Fire Walk With Me cemented my love for Lynch, but Mulholland Drive in its deconstruction of female archetypes and exploration of female sexuality is an important film for both of us.

Given how I kept wanting more, are there any plans to make a feature-length version of Floored? If not, can you give us a hint about what you are planning for your next project?

Marchelle: We’d love to spend more time with these characters – the short feels like it’s just mining the surface. Emily and I will continue to collaborate telling colorful, subversive stories centering women in a number of upcoming projects as well.