PREP
New/Next '23 + '24
•
Drama, Short Films, 02-Feb-2024
A bodybuilding fever dream fueled by childhood trauma, food porn and acid techno music. Raymond Knudsen directs “Prep,” a highly-stimulating portrait of a man who goes to extremes with his mind and body. Surrounded by rubber floor mats and stainless steel, we meet an unnamed bodybuilder with headphones blasting. An intense, wall-to-wall soundtrack shifts from rapid techno to accentuated, diegetic atmosphere. As sound shifts, so does the sense of reality. The film combines real-time sequences of “prep” routines with moments of surreal isolation: the man is surrounded by a spectacle of choreographed dancers and other bodybuilders, fights hallucinogenic cravings, and experiences abrupt flashbacks to childhood. The experimental approach is both adrenaline-inducing and emotionally resonant. -JM. Writer/Director: Raymond Knudsen. Cast: Chibueze Anyasor, John Xavier Lambert, Michael Acosta. Producers: Raymond Knudsen, Paula Andrea González-Nasser, Stephen Musumeci, Melina Valdez. DP: Robert Bevis. Editors: Raymond Knudsen, Stephen Musumeci. Production Designer: Jacqueline Xerri.
Up Next in New/Next '23 + '24
-
Beyond Failure
After falling down a YouTube fitness rabbit hole, a woman dives deep into a new obsession. Marissa Losoya’s “Beyond Failure” is a comedic docu-fictional study of a spontaneous foray into sculpting a new ass. What starts as a simple online search for stretches to fix her lower back becomes an all-...
-
Night Milk
A queer woman’s sleepover with her girlfriend resurfaces buried sexual traumas, blurring the lines between fantasy and pain. Tiger Hornby directs “Night Milk,” an experiential drama realizing the hallucinogenic disassociation between mind and body during sex and its internal epicenter. It’s the e...
-
Scotty's Vag
On the night of a sorority hazing event, a college freshman learns how far she's willing to go to impress an older girl. “Scotty’s Vag,” directed by Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz, is an unsettling, college-set drama that considers the pressure to impress, hazing-culture, and certain perceptions of vi...