HIGH LIFE
Directed by Lila Yomtoob
75 minutes
Digital Video, Color.
Half art film and half teen comedy, HIGH LIFE is a slice of life
with a punk sensibility. An improvisational and character driven
film developed during three months of rehearsal, HIGH LIFE takes
place in real time, unfolding in front of 3 handheld cameras.
Sy, an artist in his late twenties, lives in a Brooklyn loft that
doubles as his art studio. He is having trouble making new work,
and has even more trouble with the idea of showing any of it. His
ambitious girlfriend, Melissa, has set up space in a group show
for him, hoping to help his career and, more importantly, make him
into the man she wants him to be.
Sy is easily distracted by his 20 year old brother Satchel, who
freely barges into the loft at any given time with his pack of rowdy
friends to hang out. The tightly knit group has unwittingly begun
questioning their relationships with each other, with sexuality,
and with the world around them.
An ordinary day goes awry, and each character walks away with
a different understanding of themselves and the people they care
about.
High Life examines marginalized stories that are easily forgotten
but crucial in the development of personal history, while capturing
the emotional underbelly of coming of age, and the pains of accepting
adult responsibility.
Cast (in alphabetical order): Sunah Biltsted, Sharon Eisman, Max
Faugno, James Ford, Priscilla Holbrook, Sam Marks, Doug Paulson,
and Michael Wiener. Original music by Douce. Produced and directed
by Lila Yomtoob.
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