Blue Summer
2023 · 10m · USA
Directed by Allie Viti, Zach Schiffman
Genres: comedy, documentary, satire
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic
A debut indie film screening unravels into chaos as the tech fails, the Q&A implodes, and a sinkhole reportedly opens nearby, all while the doc quietly mourns the closing of NYC venue Life World.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
An indie film about an indie film screening collapsing — risks being insufferable, lands instead on something close to affectionate sabotage.
Viti and Schiffman blur verite and staged indie-scene farce so completely you stop asking which is which — Frances Ha's affection for the scene, plus a sinkhole. A quiet elegy for a closed venue lives underneath.
Blurring verite doc and staged indie-scene farce around a screening implosion, while quietly mourning the closing of Life World — Viti and Schiffman's mockumentary-of-their-own-scene has a built-in melancholy.
Reviews
Seemingly orchestrated, Blue Summer offers some cheeky jabs and observations on indie film scenes.