Beverly Heights
2024 · 19m · USA
Directed by Alyssa Aldaz
Tones: absurdist, dark, surreal
A young TV actress famous for playing the All-American cheerleader on a hit show secretly falls in love with a mysterious woman, spiraling into obsession as she struggles to reconcile her hidden queer identity with the pressures of fame and her carefully maintained public persona.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
16mm Lynchian cheerleader-actress queer awakening starting from a dream of red heels in a pool. That image is genuinely good. The Mulholland Drive comp is brave.
Aldaz shoots on 16mm with a Lynchian register and a dream-image origin (red heels sinking in a pool) — the formal commitment is real, and Mulholland Drive is a serious touchstone to claim. A young filmmaker reaching for the right tradition.
619K views on Short of the Week's channel at 18:05, with the page leading on the queer-Lynchian framing — and 16mm is mentioned in unusual_element, plausible at that audience but not confirmed in the body. The dream-image origin (red heels in a pool) is the kind of generative singular image that drives a real short.
Reviews
Most impressive is Aldaz's atmospheric pacing, prioritising ominous long takes, showcasing unsettling, immersive sound design, and a strong lead performance from Milena Abilova.
The Lynchian atmosphere that Aldaz builds with DP Mélisse Riahi, shooting on 16mm, perfectly echoes Marci's state of mind – a little lost, trapped and wanting something different.
Festivals
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024
- Aesthetica Short Film Festival
- Bushwick Film Festival
- Chéries-Chéris Film Festival
- GuadaLAjara Film Festival