Up until now NQV Mediaās output has mostly focused on the gay male experience through shorts collections such as āThe Boysā and āThe Male Gazeā. For their new series āUpon Her Lipsā, theyāre switching things up and focusing on the lesbian experience. The first instalment is āUpon Her Lips: Pure Feelsā, which brings together five shorts from Israel, Germany, Sweden, France and Brazil to give a glimpse into what itās like to be a lesbian in the modern day.
āUpon Her Lips: Pure Feelsā opens with Israeli film-maker Tzurit Hartzionās āFake Itā, which tells the story of a woman who decides to create a photography project about her past relationship. Reluctantly pulling her ex-girlfriend into the middle of it, the project reignites a fiery passion between the two women but it also reminds them why they decided they could no longer be together. The short whizzes by at a breezy pace and itās an engaging start.
The tone changes significantly for German film-maker Esther Bialasā coming-of age tale āTumbling Birds. Focusing on young girl Svenja, Bialas looks at what peer pressure and bullying can drive a child to do. Svenja is bullied by the popular kids who call her a ālesboā and she finds an unlikely friend in the school janitor, who introduces her to his pigeons. When the head of the popular gang shows interest in Svenja, sheāll do anything to fit in and her behaviour quickly falls into a destructive cycle.
French film-maker Marie Jardillier shines a spotlight on coming out in her short āAmong the Mermaidsā. Itās not your typical coming out story though as the central character Marion just happens to have fallen in love with a woman, something that appears to have taken her a bit by surprise too. As she gathers with her friends, she plucks up the courage to tell them but has no idea how they might react. Itās an endearing exploration of how even the closest of friends can keep secrets from one another and how you can always be surprised, no matter how well you think you know someone.
āEverything In Betweenā from Swedish film-maker Rushema Vinberg is the boldest of the shorts here. Told almost in complete silence, it recounts an experience between two women who are intensely attracted to one another. We learn nothing about either women other than what we see unfold and at times it feels like youāre a voyeur, secretly watching an intensely private exchange.
The final short on the collection is Brazilian film-maker Leandro Goddinhoās āPiscinaā, which finds a young woman trying to understand her grandmotherās past. Her search leads her to an old woman called Marlene who is a recluse but has kept memories inside an empty swimming pool. As the two women converse, Marleneās stories show the womanās grandmother in a new light and uncover a struggle that she never knew about. This short is a reminder of just how much harder past generations had it when it came to being gay and makes you feel fortunate that weāve made the progress we have.
āUpon Her Lips: Pure Feelsā, like its male counterpart series, is a really enjoyable watch. These five stories are so important and they really do allow you to spend time exploring what being a lesbian is like for women in different parts of the world, and at different stages of their life. There isnāt a dud among the five presented here and youāll likely go through a range of emotions as you work your way through them all.
Cast: Naama Shitrit, Dafi Shoshana-Alpern Directors/writers: Tzurit Hartzion, Esther Bialas, Marie Jardillier, Rushema Vinberg, Leandro Goddinho Certificate: 18 Duration: 92 mins Released by: NQV Media Release date: 23rd April 2021 Buy āUpon Her Lips: Pure Feelsā now
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