Sissy

Directed by Hannah Barlow, Kane Senses

Hosted by Directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes.

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tue

july

Showings

Tue July 19, 2022

6:35 PM

Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)
PRESENTED WITH Hell Gig

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Credits

Official selection

South by Southwest 2022

Director

Barlow Hannah, Senes Kane

Writer

Barlow Hannah, Senes Kane

Cast

Dee Aisha, Monk Daniel, De Margherit Emily, Barlow Hannah, Barrett Lucy, Ha Yerin

Cinematographer

Arnold Steve

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LevelK

PRESENTED WITH

Hell Gig

Ella Gale

After a comedian is infected by a demon who eats anyone she envies, her relationship with her best friend is threatened.

USA 10 mins

Australia 2022 101 mins OV English

Genre Horror

“A darkly satirical, violent, mean girl horror story about female friendship and the toxicity that can creep its way in. An original, thoughtful spin on the genre”

– Louisa Moore, SCREEN ZEALOTS

“A clever twist on morality tales about the dangers of bullying, SISSY has a twisted sense of humor, unleashing some impressively brutal practical effects as its protagonist becomes truly triggered”

– Brian Tallerico, ROGEREBERT.COM

“A fun and gutsy romp in the playground of horror, employing the genre's codes and conventions to construct a hard-to-forget snapshot of the frequently volatile terrain of contemporary feminine identity”

– Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ WOMEN ON FILM

Official Selection: SXSW 2022, Sydney Film Festival 2022

Cecelia (a terrific Aisha Dee, CHANNEL ZERO) is a super popular influencer with legions of followers hanging on her every online word as she gives out daily self-help guidance for healthier living. She wasn’t always this confident. In her childhood, Cecelia went by the name of “Sissy”, and was mercilessly taunted by one particular bully to such an extent that she eventually became an outcast. She’s 12 years past that now. A better version of herself. Stronger. Self-aware. In control. Until a chance encounter with her long-ago best friend, Emma (co-director Hannah Barlow), sees her invited to a getaway bachelorette weekend. People from her childhood will be there, bully included. Terrible, long-suppressed emotions are about to explode her past into her present, forcing a collision between the person she once was with the identity she’s worked so hard to develop. There will be nowhere to hide. For her. For everyone.

Smart as hell and bold to the extreme, SISSY is a stunning debut for Australian co-writers/directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes. While hugely engaging and fun, the film skewers influencer culture from a place of palpable pain and without condescension. Its concerns lay deeper, in the intricacies of social bonds and self-identity, in the anguish of friendships betrayed and the life-shaping cruelties of bullying. Built on a foundation of unresolved childhood trauma, SISSY cuts deep and yet it’s a total crowd-pleaser, delivering outrageously gruesome shocks and a ton of uncomfortable character-derived humour that lands brilliantly, as much a dark comedy of traumas as it is a full-blooded horror work. Experience it on its own terms and it will blow your head off. – Mitch Davis