Clean Girl
Anything but neutral. Anything but clean.
Directed by Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah
words by Katie Huelin
Clean Girl spotlights a new wave of women athletes who defy expectations, powerful, unapologetic, and unwilling to be boxed in. In a sharp break from the minimalist, polished “clean girl” trend, director Ewurakua channels her own history in contact sports to celebrate women who move with force and identity, rewriting what feminine strength looks like on camera.
Clean Girl boldly reclaims and reinterprets this minimalistic aesthetic that's associated with neutrality. What made you want to flip that narrative and position it in diversity, culture, and physicality instead?
I’ve trained and competed in contact sports my entire life, and I’ve always been drawn to capturing movement, intensity, and strength on camera. When I began directing professionally, I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to land a sports spot. I wanted to create films and commercials that highlighted female athletes across different sports, but it often felt like sports, cars, and high-intensity work were reserved for the boys’ club, while female directors were given the softer, lighter commercials instead.
I’ve never been the type to wait for opportunities to come my way, so during a quiet stretch of work, I decided to make my own piece. The idea for the “Clean Girl” motif came from an online trend called the “Clean Girl Aesthetic.” If you look this up, it describes this aesthetic as a minimalist, understated style focused on looking polished, effortlessly chic, and healthy through simple fashion, natural makeup, and a well-groomed appearance. It emphasizes neutral colors, classic clothing, dewy skin, slicked-back hair, and delicate accessories.
I found this trend incredibly BORING. In my community, my culture, and among the badass women I admire, no one follows the “clean girl” aesthetic. They are bold, daring, and unapologetically different. Anything but neutral. I wanted to capture that energy through every detail: hair, accessories, makeup, nails. Anything but neutral. Anything but clean.
“Recognizing that the system wasn’t just gonna work in my favor, I took the opportunity to claim my own space. ”
What felt important for you to show about female athletes that you don’t often see in sports films or commercials and how did you go about capturing this?
I wanted each athlete to subvert the traditional style of their sport. Our martial artist enters the gym in a bold tutu. Our tennis player sports a pearl-embroidered visor, a lace dress, frilly socks, and sneakers. Our football player and her team all wore mouthguard grills that were so fun to decorate (shoutout to Ilana). Our track runners played with bold makeup and nail designs.
The theme I wanted to highlight is that women can do anything men can do, and we can do it in a dress. We can do it with a full face of makeup, and you won’t see us break a sweat. We can be fully and authentically ourselves and still give our sports 100 percent.
I was especially excited about the nails in this piece. A Canadian nail artist I love, Jayseenails, created custom designs for our track runners in less than a week. Each nail was completely unique. One even had turf on it. TURF! Honestly, they deserved a commercial of their own.
This project became an opportunity not only to showcase female athletes but also to spotlight female artists: our wardrobe designer Nataly BG, our HMU leads Leslie Martin and Aeni, our production designer, Ilana Portney Preston, and the vendors Karen and Rita, who generously donated jewelry and accessories that made the film shine.
You’ve spoken about high-intensity work being gatekept for male directors. How did making this piece on your own terms help you reclaim that space?
When I first entered the industry, I heard the following phrases a lot: "That’s not how things work"..."That isn't how we typically do things"..."Traditionally"..."The way things have been". I wanted to create, but was being told at each stage that I needed permission or a green light to tell stories that felt authentic and exciting to me. While the goal was to book fully funded sports commercials, the reality was that I wasn't getting hired. Why? Because I didn't have sports work on my portfolio. To get the work I had to pitch, to win the work I had to have the work, to have the work I had to get hired for the work, and the work seemed to be going to the same male directors. It was a stressful cycle that I wanted to break out of. I was tired of waiting for the perfect brief to come to me; that just isn't realistic. There are so many talented directors out there, and agencies want to see the thing before they feel confident enough to believe in the thing. All of my favorite films were born from some lack. Lack of access, Lack of opportunity, Lack of funding, Lack of belief. Recognizing that the system wasn't just gonna work in my favor, I took the opportunity to claim my own space.
In what ways did your own background in martial arts and your cultural heritage inform the way you directed this project?
I wanted this piece to dip into the mind of an athlete. In any sport, repetition is the foundation of training. In Jiu-Jitsu, we practice the same move for weeks before moving on to a new form. In track, you run conditioning drills constantly. In tennis, you work your serve until it becomes muscle memory. In football, you run drills at every practice without fail.
I wanted the spot to feel like a training session. We see the same movements repeated, but each time the athlete returns to them, she is faster, stronger, or more confident.
You've said that Clean Girl was born from creating an opportunity rather than waiting for one. Looking back at the process, what did making this film teach you?
Grit. This process brought me back to how my mind worked when I created my first short film in college. I had little to no resources then, so I needed to be creative, nimble, and gritty. Where some problems would be solved with a budget band-aid, my producer and I had to think in the margins, which was really exciting for me. I love the puzzle of filmmaking, and that's what I miss on jobs that are more cut-and-dry. We were constantly thinking, moving on the fly, and making genuine connections with people who wanted to see the project come to life.
What's next for you?
I’m working on a narrative film inspired by my father’s immigration story from Ghana. My dad has been and continues to be my greatest inspiration and biggest supporter. His love for me and acceptance of my decision to become a director is what keeps me going in this (sometimes nasty) industry, and I want to give him his flowers while he is still here. This film brings together my love for experimental storytelling and his love for music, dance, family, and Ghana. I’m approaching it differently than any of my past projects and starting not with the script, but with the soundtrack. I’ve been building an original score from the ground up, shaping the story around songs that capture pivotal moments of his life. It’s been deeply rewarding to immerse myself in our culture and weave the rich sounds of traditional highlife into the music.
I’m more nervous about this project than any I’ve done before. It feels larger, more personal, because it’s for someone I love so dearly, whose opinion matters more to me than anyone’s. I want this film to show him how powerful his story is to me, and to honor the sacrifices he’s made, in the best way I know how.
Director: Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah @raekua
Producer: Parco Richardson @parcorich
Executive Producer: Trust @madewithtrust
PM: Julianna Oommen @juliannaoommen
DP: Zach Cooper @zachcooperdp
Production Designer: Ilana Portney Preston @ilananotilana
Editor: Abby Doherty
Colorist: Alexia Salingaros
Production Sound: Josh Morrison @josh.morrison_
Sound Designer and Mixer: Jacob Zacharia @plush.sound
Music: Andrew Asemokai @andrewasemokai
Key Cast:
VO: Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah, Naomi Lily @nay_lilly
Football Player: Destany Henning @destanyhenning
Tennis Player: Rylan Bratspis @rylan.bratspis
Martial Artist: Dilsat Tugba @dilsattugba
Hurdler: Azriel Walker @azriel._.walker
Sprinter: Amira Young @amira__young