Ella Ezeike is a Nigerian - American photographer and director based in London, originally from Los Angeles. Her work thoughtfully considers surreal and authentic narratives. Bluebird is a DIY and entirely self funded short poetic film. delves into the practices of love and kinship between four black women, after the duration of a turbulent relationship. Solidarity, rather than the exhausting depiction of heartbreak, lies at the centre of Bluebird. The short values the necessity of love as told and experienced through platonic friendships, and a reimagining of ‘love’, distinct from romantic love. Bluebird recognises the difficulty in the lives of many while cherishing the core sentiment of true love, humming as a reminder that friends will always be there to guide you home.

Ella Ezeike “Bluebird was inspired by my own personal struggles with heartbreak and was created as a love letter to those closest to me. It was important for me to shoot it on film because I wanted a sense of nostalgia and wanted the audience to feel like they were in a dream, almost as if they were present in the story. We talk about love from a romantic sense all the time but we hardly ever touch on the love within friendship. This film is not necessarily about heartbreak but to show the power and love within sisterhood. It's a reminder that true love can also reside there. The project was entirely self funded and extremely collaborative and all the people who contributed were incredibly passionate. It was shot over two afternoons in England, and my actresses were casted with little to no acting experience so I was so happy with how they were all able to get into character. I think it helped that the narrative was relatable as we can all go through heartbreak and our friends are always the ones helping us through the pain."