Staff Choose Premiere A toast to friendship

Love and friendship are universal elements of the human experience, and it's easy to say that they are two of our basic requirements as human beings. These are the bonds that connect us. They keep us together but also make us more vulnerable. They make us fear losing them as deeply as we desire to have them in the initial place. Filmmakers' task is to convey this duality in its infinite forms is a daunting one, however in the rare instances when a work tackles the complexities of human emotions in a way that is honest, it can become an effective tool for understanding our own experiences. This brings us to the current Staff Pick Premiere: Liv Karin Dahlstrom's "Women&Wine," a comedic investigation of self-destructed pride as it confronts a fading friendship. It was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival (full information: I served on the jury), "Women&Wine" is simultaneously a touching, awkward, and ultimately familiar portrait of one woman's desperate struggle to hold on to her friend.

The film begins by introducing Turid (Marit Andreassen) and Signe (Jeanne Bee) who are two females in their mid-life friends, who are planning a surprise birthday party for their friends Grete (Turid Gunnes). After a playful prank becomes a snub which leads to Turid is worried that she's not thought of as a friend. confidence can get in the way of trust and hilariously cringe-worthy behavior ensues. An emotionally astute and honest representation of human relationships The film covers the gamut from beautiful and funny to snarky and tragic. According to Dahlstrom, who co-wrote the script along with Thorkild Schroepf, a similar situation occurred at a friend's bachelorette party that led them contemplate the "humor of the vulnerability and vulnerability that people attempt to cover up when trying to protect themselves in difficult social situations. Both of us are incredibly inspired by the human mind, and what happens when we allow our emotions to take control." For Turid the girl who's blinded by the notion that Grete does not value their friendship, the event becomes a last ditch effort to prove their bond and climb the friendship ladder by tripping on herself and other people in the process.

While the themes of friendship and jealousy might be familiar to you, or like a recipe for a film that deals with unhealthy female friendships, Dahlstrom has a clear intention to avoid melodrama and adopts an approach that is naturalistic and focuses on the dynamic performance of her actors and emotional range. Inspired by the everyday moments of seemingly small moments, Dahlstrom decided that "the camera should follow the actors and their actions, not the other way about." As a result it is a film that effortlessly flows from scene to scene, revealing the lengths we'll take to protect our friends, and also our pride.