Christine Sloan Stoddard plays Sirena in "Sirena's Gallery" (Image courtesy Christine Sloan Stoddard
Filmmaker Christine Sloan Stoddard explores the pain and growth that comes from loss in "Sirena’s Gallery." The independent film takes place during the pandemic and follows a Salvadoran-American woman, Sirena, in the aftermath of her husband’s suicide. Sirena is left to mourn while also working to keep her art gallery afloat, all while her contact with the outside world is limited to video calls. The film, starring Stoddard as Sirena, premieres at the Byrd Theatre on Friday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Although this is Stoddard’s first feature-length film, she has directed several short films and has written several books, including "Hispanic & Latino Heritage in Virginia," "Naomi & the Reckoning" and "Desert Fox by the Sea." Stoddard, also the founder of Quail Bell Magazine, lives in Brooklyn, New York, but often returns to Richmond for projects. “Sirena’s Gallery” was filmed at the 1708 Gallery, and the film pulls directly from her personal experiences.
Richmond magazine: What was your inspiration for this film?
Christine Sloan Stoddard: I was interested in the day-to-day [business] of running a gallery, while also balancing one's personal life. This was an idea that I had been thinking about for years. It really started to take shape in 2018 when I was doing my MFA at the City College of New York. I spent a semester in residence at a gallery space doing different kinds of work that pulled together into one exhibition. It was that experience that really made me imagine a character and her story.
RM: How is Sirena’s Salvadoran-American identity important to this story?
Stoddard: As a Salvadoran-American myself, I wanted to tell a story that defied stereotypes while still touching on themes of identity and how identity manifests itself in everyday life. El Salvador, its people and its diaspora have a long history with loss … but viewers don’t have to know anything about El Salvador to feel Sirena’s disconnectedness and remove from the motherland. It’s part of the greater loss that she feels in her life, especially during this pandemic period. Loss is central to the film, but so is looking toward recovery. Sirena wants to change, to get better, to find meaning in life. That search mirrors the mentality of many Salvadorans and Salvadoran-Americans in this post-war era. I didn’t want this film to get into all of the political nuances of immigration and refugee-ness; that’s not what the film is about, and Sirena’s story during the pandemic doesn’t deal with that. She’s the child of people who fled, who got out, and that comes with a loss that never goes away. It also comes with survivor’s guilt, which is something that the loved ones of those who die by suicide often experience, too.
RM: How did loneliness accompany loss in this film?
Stoddard: I wanted to capture the monotony and loneliness of quarantine. … [Quarantine] gave many of us the gift of time. … This allowed me to reflect on and work through feelings I needed to process. I definitely took this observation and applied it to Sirena’s plight. I don’t think Sirena could’ve grieved in the same way had she not lost her husband during the pandemic. There wouldn’t have been the societal space for it. At the same time, she didn’t have community in the way she would’ve prior to the pandemic. Or maybe that’s presumptuous. Maybe most people would’ve been too “busy” to really hold space for her then. But that’s a different kind of loneliness.
RM: What do you hope viewers get out of watching this film?
Stoddard: I want them to connect with Sirena, free themselves to feel the emotions that come with loss, and appreciate the power and hope that comes with creating.
