a person named universal love
2023 · 6m · USA
Directed by Ava Hase
Tones: absurdist, tender, whimsical
A self-absorbed woman keeps slamming the door on Universal Love, an impossibly patient personified being who keeps coming back. The film tracks the daily war between self-loathing and self-acceptance as a recurring visit.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Personifying Universal Love as an annoyingly persistent dude knocking on your door is the kind of literalism I usually hate, except here it cuts. Wholesome with teeth.
Personifying abstraction as recurring houseguest is a Miranda July gambit, and the door-slam runner can either land or ossify into routine. Trusting the deadpan instincts here over the conceit itself.
Personifying Universal Love as a houseguest played by Oscar Falcon is a delicious sketch engine, and that recurring knock-and-banish rhythm sounds like it's doing real emotional work. Six minutes is the right runtime for this idea.