Eliza Hittman’s debut feature film IT FELT LIKE LOVE which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival will open in New York on March 21st and Los Angeles on March 28th, 2014. IT FELT LIKE LOVE tells the story of fourteen year-old Lila played by Gina Piersanti, who’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.
Fourteen-year-old Lila is experiencing an ennui-filled Brooklyn summer. She awkwardly wears a Kabuki-esque mask of sunscreen at the beach and plays third wheel to Chiara, her more experienced friend, and Chiara’s boyfriend, Patrick. Determined to have a love interest of her own, a bravado-filled Lila pursues Sammy, a tough but handsome older boy. Though Sammy doesn’t respond to her overtures, he doesn’t reject her either, and Lila—unable to resist spinning delusional fables of a relationship with him—manipulates herself deeper into his world. When her desperation and posturing carry her too far into unfamiliar territory, her inexperience is exposed, and she is forced to confront reality.
In this film shot from Lila’s point of view and constructed with precise—sometimes startling—imagery and intimate moments, first-time feature writer/director Eliza Hittman confidently constructs a viewing experience that is completely subjective. Bolstered by a perfectly modulated lead performance from Gina Piersanti, It Felt Like Love unflinchingly reveals some of the rawest moments of girlhood in an authentic story of burgeoning identity and sexual awakening. | Sundance Film Festival
Written & Directed By: Eliza Hittman
Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Nicolas Rosen, Jesse Cordasco, Richie Folio, Case Prime, Kevin Anthony Ryan
Produced By: Eliza Hittman, Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
Executive Produced By: Tyler Brodie, Hunter Gray, Gill Holland
Production Company: Bay Bridge Productions & Infinitum Productions in association with The Group Entertainment & Verisimilitude
Country: USA
Runtime: 80 Minutes
Distributed by: Variance Films
Releasing: NYC: Friday, March 21st | Los Angeles: Friday, March 28th
http://youtu.be/c0jufr-ed5Y
images via tumblr