The French Italian | Next Wave Spotlight

Next Wave Spotlight
Suggested as a double feature with WWW.RACHELORMONT.COM

Doug and Valerie become obsessed with their mysterious neighbors, a chaotic couple that confoundingly take up endless karaoke sessions in between their loud arguments. Despite the couple’s fascination with their neighbors, the disruptions become intolerable and drive them to do the unthinkable: move out of their rent-stabilized Brooklyn apartment. In order to sneakily get answers—and revenge for their new suburban life—they concoct an elaborate scheme to cast their former neighbor in a fake play. “The show must go on!” takes on a whole new meaning as the absurd prank quickly spirals out of control and the web of lies gets bigger by the day. What could possibly go wrong?

This offbeat comedy features a formidable ensemble of exciting comedic performers, led by the utterly delightful Catherine Cohen and Aristotle Athari. Hilariously commenting on both the tumultuous nature of New Yorker rental woes, as well as the absurd lengths theater folks will go to commit to their craft, writer and director Rachel Wolther’s witty feature debut is mood-boosting, wildly entertaining, and packed with laughs —Celeste Wong

West Coast Premiere

Featured as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Rachel Wolther is a writer, director, and producer, who co-directed the mid-length absurdist dance comedy SNOWY BING BONGS with Alex Fischer, produced by DANIELS. Her BlackList screenplay, NOBODY NOTHING NOWHERE, earned her a spot at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2018. Her work has screened at the Berlinale, Rotterdam and New York Film Festivals, among others.