I feel like I’m cheating if I say: I am a model, I am a teacher, I am a lover, I am an artist, I am a chameleon, I am a fighter... I am a person... I am a female.
 - Joanne

Simon Fujiwara’s new film Joanne depicts the many faces of Joanne, Simon Fujiwara’s former secondary school teacher, and addresses issues around representations of women in social media, tabloid press and consumerism.

Joanne Salley, winner of the 1998 Miss Northern Ireland beauty pageant, artist, teacher and champion boxer had a formative influence on Fujiwara, nurturing his creative talents as a scholarship student at the prestigious Harrow School for boys.

Some years after his departure, Joanne found herself at the centre of a damaging tabloid scandal after students discovered and circulated topless photographs of her that had been taken privately.

The media campaign that followed played on stereotypes of women to support the sensational headlines, tarnishing her reputation as a teacher and public persona. Five years on, Fujiwara and Joanne embarked on the production of a short film that explores issues Salley faced in the wake of the scandal and aims to present a more complex picture of her.

In collaboration with Film and Video Umbrella