Golden Child
2024 · 10m · USA
Directed by Hannah Levin
Tones: absurdist, humorous, melancholic
A young woman named Lulu is reunited with her childhood friend at her father's birthday pool party and must reckon with the fact that he used to urinate on her when they were kids.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Reckoning with a childhood friend who used to pee on you, at his dad's pool party — that's a premise. Whether the film actually has anywhere to go after that opening salvo is the real question.
Levin's premise sits in the awkward-confrontation comedy lineage of Shiva Baby and Funny Pages, though the trauma-comedy hybrid asks more than its 10 minutes may grant. I'm intrigued rather than convinced.
10:02 with Levin writing, directing, AND starring opposite Gillian Vigman and Seth Morris — the crude-premise-as-trauma-excavation only lands if the lead can hold ambivalence without tipping into bit, and triple-hatting your own emotional material is a tough ask. Curious but cautious.
Reviews
A bold, reckoning comedy short that balances comedic beats while keeping the narrative moving.
The idea of someone peeing on another person — that was an event that could seem funny at first but then have real gravity.
Festivals
- Aspen Shortsfest 2024
- Raindance Film Festival 2024
- Seattle International Film Festival 2024