Seeking Engagement
2025 · 10m · USA
Directed by Jacob Halpren
Tones: darkly comic, humorous, provocative
On his 35th birthday a flailing content creator starts faking marriage proposals on camera to game the algorithm. Each staged stunt corrodes another piece of his actual life.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Rage-bait as career path, played with the conviction of a Method actor. He's not asking us to sympathize — he's daring us to admit we'd watch.
Rage-bait as career path played straight enough to sting is the disciplined posture — Ingrid Goes West with a TikTok TOS violation is a precise enough comparison to earn it. Yes.
A character study of rage-bait-as-career-path played straight enough to sting — staged proposal videos as content engine, Barclays Center subplot — that's a precise satirical target. Ingrid-Goes-West-meets-TOS-violation has teeth.
Reviews
Halpren's film reflects a contemporary reality where 'rage-bait' and staged public performances are common, tracking an influencer's yearning for fame or infamy with an admirable level of commitment and shamelessness.