Post Screening Q&A took place Tues. Oct 24, 2023 during the 32nd Philadelphia Film Festival with Writer/Director/Actor Kit Zauhar. Moderated by the festival's Artistic Director, Michael Lerner.
Synopsis: In Philadelphia for a high school reunion, ASMR artist Tessa (Zauhar) and her boyfriend Ben (Zane Pais) have opted to rent an Airbnb room for the weekend. They are taken aback when they arrive to find not their supposed host, but awkward and reclusive gamer Adam (Ian Edlund). The three will navigate the confined apartment space for the weekend like a repressed emotional minefield triggered by barely submerged resentments and misunderstandings.
Tinsel & Tine #MiniMovieReview - I've only stayed at one Airbnb where I shared the place with the homeowner, and it is an uncomfortable feeling. It's how Airbnb's started out, but now I don't think there's that many of those kind anymore. In "This Closeness", not only is Adam (Ian Edlund), the guy they're renting from, a super socially awkward person, but the apartment is very small and the bedroom walls paper thin. The couple Tessa (Zauhar) & Ben (Zane Pais) are going through a rough patch in their relationship, so all their fighting is overheard by Adam which makes him feel uncomfortable in his own apartment. Yet they feel he's the one making things awkward. In truth, Tessa should not have come with Ben for his High School Reunion, she doesn't want to go out with his old friends the 2 nights prior to the actual reunion, which gives her too much time at Adam's Airbnb, allowing for that interaction to go awry. And it gives her too much time to contemplate who Ben really is, seeing him now in this setting of his former life.
I said I felt like I was too old to appreciate two other Millennial relationship films I saw during #PFF32 by female writer/directors - I didn't feel that way about this one. Zauhar has a good grasp of writing uncomfortable, authentic scenarios and tones. I liked the small details like the issue revolving around the constantly changing temperature in the room. The film is not meant to be played for laughs, yet it's highly amusing. She said it's not based on anything autobiographical, which is hard to believe.
#PFF32 #femalefilmmaker #FilminPhilly #ThisCloseness