After a painful dry spell a woman attempts to have a one night stand. Directed by Lizzy Sanford, “Rubber Heart” is an open and honest comedy examining issues of gender roles and expectations of appearance. The man doesn’t know how to react when faced with Anna’s pubic hair. Trying to compensate for what has obviously rattled him: ”I like a woman with ‘the bush.’ That’s cool.” As she stands there exposed, he stammers on as if she needs his permission before entering bed, “I think it’s awesome. I think a woman should do what she wants to do down there.” Losing confidence by the second, she seeks some level of assurance, “I mean you’d still fuck me if I didn’t shave my legs?” By the time the act itself occurs, the intimacy is basically all lost and the film has dove deep into the travails of sex and connection. Sanford is able to accurately capture the awkwardness and vulnerability — the coital fumbling and post sex practicalities (e.g. finding an acceptable cum rag) are handled perfectly, and the whole thing is carried with wonderfully candid performances from Anna Cordell (also a co-writer) and Kevin Phillips. -KA.
Left home alone for the weekend, two sisters navigate their strained rivalry amid the horrors of adolescent sexuality. Lizzy Sanford writes and directs “The Knot,” an understated character study about sibling-hood and teenage rites of passage. The film is merely a glimpse but it’s painted with vi...
Alessandra Lacorazza’s “Mami” takes a risky look at the struggle a daughter engages in when she realizes that her chance for a successful life might hinge on the abandonment of her dependent mother. Carolina, a young Latinx immigrant woman lives with her mother in the United States, is the careta...
The documentary “Narmin’s Birthday” tells the story of 15-year-old Narmin and her 84-year-old grandmother Ismat, who share a bedroom in their family’s tiny Sheepshead Bay apartment. Though their nights are spent no more than four feet away from each other on parallel beds, the cultural identities...
