Tenderless
From the Archives
•
Drama, Short Films, Romance, 08-Dec-2023
An awkward New York teenager accompanies her more experienced friend to a boy’s home. Amanda Samimi directs “Tenderless,” a 16mm coming-of-age film that considers youthful city-living and meandering intimacies. Observing skaters on the blacktop and the overly-acquainted squirrels of Tompkins Square Park, Mona and Ivy sit on a bench; a melody plays. While Ivy awaits a call back from Colin, a boy she’s supposed to link up with, Mona inquires about their relationship and sexual activity. They get to his apartment, and Mona finds herself on the edge of the sofa as a third wheel. Bored, she paces through the unit, sits out on the fire escape, and finally returns to the living room. Ivy had to head home, and it’s just her and Colin. The film’s stylistic zoom-ins, and a score that’s both baroque and giallo, work to heighten its tender naturalism. -JM. Director: Amanda Samimi. Cast: Lula O’Donnell, Prentice Jones, Rory Hayatgheybi. Producer: Miles Emanuel. DP: Connor Keep. AC/Loader: Katie Mlinek, Grace Conrad. Gaffer: Jonas Hayes. Sound Mixer: Shane Fleming. Score: Patrick Colabella.
Up Next in From the Archives
-
Where the Buffalo Roam
Twenty-four year old Brad commemorates what seems to be his last night in the suburbs alongside his older brother Tyler, who is on the brink of turning thirty and still living at home. The film extends past the poetic experimentation of Bischoff's previous work, "Eyelids" and "For My Mick Jagger,...
-
Horny Kid - A Film Essay
Reflecting on his lustful youth, a 30-year-old man gets answers from his mother about his early fascination with life-sized Barbie dolls and scantily clad models. “Horny Kid - A Film Essay,” directed by Josh Whiteman, is a priceless compilation of home videos shot in the 1990’s merged with curren...
-
ecologics
A young narrator fixates on old office buildings and discarded ways of life, experiencing some form of nostalgia for something they never experienced. Lauren Koo directs “ecologics,” an experimental video poem that explores the liminal spaces and dissonances of human work life, technological adva...
