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2024

Directed By

Naomi Katz

Starring

Madeline Kelman, Ethan Keyes

Whilst on her first date with an older man, an insecure, eager-to-mature young woman must overcome the date, as well as the anxiety-triggered parasite that grows from her diaphragm.

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In an attempt to conceal a monstrous parasite, 10 year old Vasalisa’s mother clothes her in a thick corset. Eight years later and the now teenaged Vasilisa has never taken the corset off, and the parasite has done nothing but spread. Desperate for the validation and love that she never got from her disgusted mother, she downloads Tindr, a ceremonious task for 18 year olds in the modern age, and meets an older boy named Michael. She invites him over for a poolside date, and attempts to impress him with a series of awkward lies and flirting attempts. Unfortunately, Michael is not the hopeless romantic that Vasilisa was hoping he’d be, as he has one goal for this date: sex. As Michael pushes Vasilisa’s boundaries, her anxiety grows, and as her anxiety grows, the parasite grows with it, rapidly becoming irreconcilable.

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STARRING

ETHAN KEYES

AS MICHAEL

MADELINE KELMAN

AS VASILISA

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THE CREW

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"Writing and directing this film has felt like therapy to me, as it's helped me to process some of my own early dating experiences, which I'm sure many other young people can relate to. Being able to share this story with such an empathetic crew has been helped me to feel seen in a way I never have before, and I hope that this film can make other people feel the same way that I felt making it. Being insecure, naive, and navigating sexuality is so hard, but as Pitbull once said: believe me, been there, done that."

-Naomi Katz, Director and Co-Writer

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