Ladies
2024 · 17m · USA
Directed by Allison Bunce
Tones: contemplative, humorous, tender
On an idyllic bachelorette weekend getaway, Ruby has what seems like a sex dream about her best friend Leila and can't tell if it actually happened, forcing her to confront the ambiguous intimacy of their friendship and her own desires.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Bachelorette weekend sex-dream ambiguity on 16mm with Kristoffer Borgli randomly acting in it — that last detail is so weird I almost can't not watch. Bottoms/Booksmart comp suggests it's lighter than I'd want, though.
Bunce shoots on 16mm with Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) in a rare acting role, which alone signals taste. The ambiguous-sex-dream premise has been done, but the formal envelope here is promising.
510K views on SOTW for 16:30 of bachelorette-weekend ambiguity shot on 16mm, with Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) in a rare acting role — the film stock choice is doing real work supporting the did-it-or-didn't-it dream haze, and that view count confirms the comic-timing-meets-yearning lands.
Reviews
A special film that is undoubtedly worthy of multiple re-watches.
B-roll with voiceover that oozes realism, balancing semi-hefty subject matter with humor that made me audibly laugh on multiple occasions.
Festivals
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024