Under fluorescent casting lights is where French Girls unfolds with the hazy intimacy of a half-remembered diary entry. Cameras flash, cigarettes burn down between conversations, and the ache of wanting – to be seen, desired, chosen – hangs over every frame. This is the new feature film from Korean-Australian writer, director and filmmaker Hyun Lee, set to have its global premiere at Sydney Film Festival this June.
Starring models Mia Kidis (as Mia) and Daia (as Anya), the film draws directly from the emotional terrain of the fashion world Lee once inhabited, following two young women navigating the modelling industry and the instability that surrounds it – shaped by years Lee spent documenting models behind the scenes of shoots, fittings and after-hours moments. That lived experience gives French Girls its visceral pulse; every interaction feels immediate, accidental, painfully real.
With two screenings already sold out, a third nearing capacity, and a newly announced session now on the schedule, we sat down with Hyun Lee, Mia Kidis and Daia for a conversation spanning modelling, memory, and the strange intimacy of mirrored experience.
Hyun, what was the seed from which this film grew? Was it a moment, a memory, a person?
HL: There were many, many things that inspired this film. I started my career as a photographer and I used to do a lot of test shoots for modelling agencies. A lot of the story comes from that time of my life. I actually made a short film version of French Girls in 2015 and had a feature film script that was written long before I met Mia and Daia. Most of the key moments in that script are still the same, but the characters and story changed a lot. I was re-writing the script as we were filming, mostly to mould the characters to the actors we were casting.
How did you all meet?
HL: It’s funny, because RUSSH actually played a big part in how we all met! I was shooting some BTS video for a RUSSH editorial, where I was also shooting some documentary-style footage to use as proof-of-concept material for French Girls. Mia was the model on that shoot and she had such an amazing presence on screen, I had to hunt her down to try to shoot more stuff with her. I met Daia at a fitting for an All is a Gentle Spring show, where I was shooting BTS video for RUSSH, and again, documentary material for French Girls. It was honestly very fateful, there were so many insane synchronicities, like “Mia” was the name of the character written in the original script, and Daia’s real life story is so similar to her character’s, but it was all written long before I met them.
Daia, how much of your modelling experience did you feel was mirrored in the film?
D: Kind of all of it. My character Anya is a Russian girl who was introduced to modelling at a very young age and has been doing it for a while, but is not really achieving anything in the industry. She is representative of those models that did not get their big break. When I started, I was 15, in Russia. Modelling was introduced as a pathway to make money. I wanted to go to university but my family could not afford that. I didn’t have a lot of options, so I went overseas to be a model, so I could pay my tuition fees. Unfortunately I was not successful, I spent years being rejected, and I did not make any money. I was called too fat or too “weird” looking and eventually I kind of just got fed up with waiting to be picked, but still never being good enough. This just crumbled my self esteem.
HL: It’s interesting that you see your character as a kind of 'failed' model, when actually it’s really rare for models to keep modelling for that long – a lot quit much earlier because the constant rejection is really brutal. You’ve actually gotten a lot of work over the years.
D: It wasn’t all bad of course. I still had opportunities – like working in night clubs with other models that allowed me to save enough money to eventually come to Australia. But, it was definitely not modelling by the book. It was the underworld of modelling rather than the actual photoshoots and contracts. Honestly, I never felt like either of those things were what I chose to do. It kind of all just happened to me, and girls like me, or Anya. You just have to take opportunities. Maybe break some rules, choose what’s best for you. In the last couple years while modelling in Australia, I started to feel more and more of, "why am I even doing this?". I don’t even remember what I actually wanted, before my ideals were being beautiful and skinny. I just felt so fucking lost and, honestly, scared. I just had to figure out what I was before being a model. All of that was pretty much what I was going through, whilst filming, so everything was quite aligned with the real life emotions and experiences of Anya. I didn’t even really have to act much.
HL: I’m really, really grateful for how much both Daia and Mia put themselves on the line for this movie and, even though it’s all fictional and they’re playing characters, I still think they put a lot of their own experiences into their performances. I think people sometimes forget – or just don’t know how confronting and scary it can be for actors to do that. It demands a terrifying level of vulnerability, it’s a lot of pressure. Even though we had a lot of fun while making the movie, it was also really tough. Mia, did you also feel like your modelling experience was mirrored in the film?
MK: Yeah, I think Hyun's view on the industry was pretty accurate for me. From the agency casting scene, to the experiences on set... Hyun is very observant and I think her experiences as a photographer on fashion sets informed the scenes and script in a very genuine way. All of the 'real life' documentary scenes are quite special for me. Hyun captured my first shoot and runway... and now my first acting experience, it's been surreal.
Mia, how has your experience behind the camera as a photographer informed your work in front of it?
MK: I'm not sure if I was considering that while I was acting, but I think being on that side of the camera and working so close with Hyun and the crew, improved my directing skills. To be able to articulate a scene from my imagination... it was very inspiring and insightful for me.
Was there a favourite memory each of you can share from the making of?
MK: Maybe filming the last scene at Weezy's house, with the curious neighbour that was convinced we were filming an adult XXX movie.
D: I just remember how we laughed so much the whole time filming it. It was awesome to be with your actual friends on set. And making friends with new people. I actually really liked learning my lines and I was like "Wow, acting is funny".
HL: Maybe for me a specific memory doesn’t come to mind, but we filmed in a way that we started out shooting the more 'real' documentary-type scenes first and towards the end of the shoot, we were doing scenes that needed much more difficult acting. There’s a scene where Mia is crying her eyes out in public while eating a sandwich. It was really incredible watching everyone going from kind of just being themselves to becoming full blown actors by the end.
You can buy tickets to a screening of French Girls at Sydney Film Festival now on the SFF website.
