Staff Select The First Toast to friends

The bonds of love and friendship are the common threads of human condition And it's not difficult to claim that they are the two most fundamental requirements as human beings. They are the ties which unite us. They help us stay together while simultaneously making us more at risk. They are a source of fear for us, just as much as we would prefer to keep them at all times. Filmmakers' task to record this conflict through its many forms is enormous, but in the rare instances that a film addresses emotions that are insecure and honest the film becomes an effective tool for comprehending our personal experience. This brings us to the present Staff Pick premiere, Liv Karin Dahlstrom's "Women&Wine," a comedic investigation of self-destructed pride when confronted by a dying friendship. The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival (full details: I was a juror), "Women&Wine" is both a charming and awkward and ultimately a moving portrait of a woman's desperate struggle to hold the friendship of her best acquaintance.

The film begins by introducing Turid (Marit Andreassen) and Signe (Jeanne Bee) who are two females who are friends in midlife that plan a lavish birthday party for their new acquaintance Grete (Turid Gunnes). When a prank they play with turns into a snub that leaves Turid worried that she's no longer considered a close friend, jealousy gets in the way of self-confidence and a hilariously embarrassing act ensues. An honest and sensitive portrayal of relationships and friendships, the film is a swathe of charming as well as silly, to awkward and difficult. Based on Dahlstrom who wrote the screenplay along with Thorkild Schrumpf, a similar situation occurred at a party hosted by a close friend that led them consider the "humor of the vulnerability and vulnerability that people attempt to hide when they try to avoid socially stressful situations. Both of us are incredibly inspired by the human brain and the consequences that occur when feelings take precedence over rational thinking." In the case of Turid who is swayed by the idea that Grete isn't worthy of her friendship, their gathering becomes a last effort to show their love and ascend the social ladder while getting in the way of others along the path.

The subject matter of jealousy and friendship might be familiar to you, or like a recipe for the film "The Unhealthy Female" about unhappier female friendships, Dahlstrom willfully avoids the melodrama of her films in favour an approach to life which focuses on the dynamic performances of her characters and their emotional range. Inspired by the everyday moments of the seemingly insignificant, Dahlstrom decided that "the camera should follow the actors and their behavior rather than the opposite way regarding." That's why the film swiftly moves from scene to scene and reveals the extents that we'll go to protect our friends, and also our confidence.

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