Race becomes one more thing, like the inequality in income between the characters, or lust, that hangs over the interactions here, silently shaping everyone’s moods and reactions. The fact that toward the end Adam brings home a date, Kristen (Kate Williams), who is of Asian descent like bi-racial Tessa, proves that he has a thing for Asian women, Ben reckons. Conversely, there’s an unspoken spark between Adam and Tessa, an inchoate something that’s maybe an attraction or just a vibe, that Ben senses as well. Those sorts of uncomfortable exchanges continue throughout, with characters not quite getting each other’s jokes and taking mild umbrage as a result. “Hope we don’t suck,” Tessa says smilingly, expecting that he’ll say “no, of course not.” Instead, he just says he doesn’t know yet.

The best part is that if they suck, he doesn’t even have to kick them out because they’ll leave soon. He explains ingenuously to Tessa that his best friend helped set up the account to be a host so he’d have a chance to meet new people.

(It’s a whole thing on YouTube.) Ben, a journalist, met her when he was writing an article about the phenomenon.Īdam is also a filmmaker of sorts, who edits promotional videos for a sports company, although he doesn’t seem especially sporty himself. In one weirdly mesmerizing, semi-comic early scene, Tessa and Ben dance together in the bedroom in their underwear, listening to music only they can hear through their headphones.įor a living, Tessa does sound design and makes ASMR videos, short clips designed to trigger autonomous sensory meridian response, or the pleasant tingling sensation down the back of the neck and spine. At the same time, silences and clumsy lulls in conversation speak louder than bombs. Throughout, the film cuts away to either Ben and Tessa or Adam’s reactions as they hear what’s going on - arguments, copulation, snoring - in the room next door. Indeed, sound and how it affects people is a key theme here.

Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Narrative Spotlight)Ĭast: Zane Pais, Kit Zauhar, Ian Edlund, Jessie Pinnick, Kate Williams

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