the film

Venus is a short film based on a true story of domestic violence and sexual assault, directed by Esmeralda Seay-Reynolds, and made by an all female crew in New York.

The film centers on a young woman, Athena Scar (20), living in an artist's studio, which she once shared with her older, male lover, Matt Narcus (35).

The protagonist, Athena, relives the loving and almost childlike romance she and Matt shared, which turned to ugliness, the memories darkening until we, and Athena, are forced to face the truth that Matt was sexually abusive, forcing himself on her and refusing to stop when begged to, even causing bleeding. Matt blamed Athena for the paint he gets on his clothes when hiding her artwork punishment, and threatening to leave if she makes one wrong move.

Now, years later, Athena stares at her paintings -- warped mimics of the goddess Venus, being eaten alive by the namesake Venus FlyTrap, which lures its prey with sweetness before crushing it slowly to death. A clear metaphor for what Athena endured the Venus FlyTrap and her art turn to a symbol of recovery, as Athena allows flowers to grow from her own Venus FlyTrap, which kills the traps themselves, and she turns her completed paintings to the light.

the director

Esmeralda Seay-Reynolds is a filmmaker based in New York City, who began her career in the creative field  as a high fashion model at fifteen-years-old, traveling the globe for Chanel, Vogue, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and more. During this time, she learned from photographers, stylists, and designers, while herself studying literature and painting in school. 

At eighteen, Esmeralda began acting and screenwriting, winning 2nd place in Screencraft’s Sci-Fi contest for her original feature script, “Eat Me!,” and starring in Ric Berns’ upcoming Dante, as three of the female leads, Pia de’ Tolomei, Piccarda Donati, and Francesca da Rimini. Everything she creates comes from a deep personal connection from her admittedly abnormal life — in the case of Dante, she was able to speak in both English and Italian because of her time in Milan for Fendi and other brands, and had in fact read the entire Divine Comedy in airports and backstage at shows. 

When not acting or writing, Esmeralda paints and works for artists John Currin and Rachel Feinstein. She continues to write, direct, and act in psychologically and visually driven works, particularly those created by and for women.