Ep89 Cassidy Krygger: Storytelling, Cinema and MS

<p><a href="https://www.hollywoodlandphotos.com/aboutcassidykrygger" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cassidy Krygger</a> is a film historian, cultural commentator, filmmaker and founder of <a href="https://www.hollywoodlandphotos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hollywoodland Photos</a>, who first featured on The Raw Nerve Podcast in <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/raw-nerve/23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2024</a>. Living with <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/what-is-multiple-sclerosis-ms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">multiple sclerosis (MS)</a> since 2018, she draws on classic cinema and lived experience to explore identity, resilience and invisible illness through her films ‘Daisy’, <a href="https://www.hollywoodlandphotos.com/love-in-the-moonlight" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘Love in the Moonlight’</a> and ‘The Last Spotlight’.</p><p>Cassidy returns to the podcast to discuss creativity, storytelling, cinema and life with MS with host Jeremy Henderson.</p><p>Since her previous appearance, ‘Daisy’ has screened at more than 30 international film festivals, won 17 awards and earned a Best Short Film nomination at the 2025 <a href="https://www.aacta.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AACTA Awards</a>—building Cassidy’s confidence and opening doors.</p><p>Cassidy reflects on Hollywoodland Photos, the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hollywoodlandphotos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">classic-cinema platform</a> she founded at 18. Now attracting more than 20 million monthly views, it combines her fascination with old Hollywood’s beauty, escapism and history with well-researched, respectful content.</p><p>Her deeply personal short film in development, ‘The Last Spotlight’, is set in 1950s Melbourne, Australia and follows Norma, a glamorous showgirl diagnosed with MS at her career’s height. Cassidy hopes to make invisible <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/what-is-multiple-sclerosis-ms/symptoms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">symptoms</a> visible and examine the pressure to conceal illness while performing.</p><p>She explains how her diagnosis and considering those who lived with MS when information, support and treatment were scarce shaped the concept. Her research included a conversation with eminent neurologist and MS researcher <a href="https://discover.utas.edu.au/Bruce.Taylor" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Professor B