Rose Glass

Did You Know?

• Glass cited Misery as an early inspiration for Saint Maud.
• She used the 1995 film Showgirls to demonstrate the tone of Love Lies Bleeding to the cast.
• Glass credited David Cronenberg, John Waters, and David Lynch as major inspirations.

Early life

Glass was born in London and grew up in Essex in a Catholic household. From age 12, she made home videos with friends, experimenting with stop-motion and alien-themed films. She attended New Hall School and Hurtwood House, then graduated from London College of Communication and the National Film and Television School in 2014. During her studies, she wrote and directed five short films, including Room 55 and Storm House, and worked as a runner on film sets.

Career

Glass gained prominence with her feature-length directorial and screenwriting debut, Saint Maud, shot in 2018. The psychological horror follows a hospice nurse who, after converting to Catholicism, becomes obsessed with saving the soul of one of her patients. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2019 and had a UK theatrical release on 9 October 2020 via StudioCanal UK. In 2019, Glass won the IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award.

At the 2020 British Independent Film Awards, she won Best Debut Director. At the 74th British Academy Film Awards in early 2021, Saint Maud received two nominations, including one for Glass in Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Film critic Mark Kermode gave the film a five-star review, and director Danny Boyle praised Glass as an extraordinary talent with a singular vision. In March 2022, Kristen Stewart announced she would work with Glass on the romantic thriller Love Lies Bleeding, developed by Film4 and A24.

Glass co-wrote the screenplay with Weronika Tofilska. The story follows Lou (Stewart), a reclusive gym manager from a criminal family, and Jackie (Katy O'Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder. Glass aimed for a visceral project inspired by body horror, violent films, and female bodybuilders of the 1940s and 50s. Love Lies Bleeding premiered in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, with US theatrical release on 8 March 2024 by A24 and UK release on 19 April 2024 by Lionsgate.

The National Board of Review named it one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2024. With a $10 million budget, it earned $12.8 million. At the 2024 British Independent Film Awards, it received three nominations, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.