LOGLINE

On her last day in rehab, a chance encounter reignites Baby’s addiction, as she and an alluring incoming patient confront their mutual lust for blood.

SYNOPSIS

On the eve of her graduation from rehab, a chance encounter with an alluring incoming patient, Jackson, reignites twenty-four-year-old Baby’s addiction, forcing the two of them to confront their mutual lust for human blood.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

I was struck by the idea of setting a love story in “vampire rehab” during the COVID-19 shut down. Like many others at the time, I was struggling with extreme alienation and began to imagine what might happen if humans were forced to live in this state of isolation indefinitely. I wondered if we might eventually begin to seek more radical forms of intimacy– maybe even the most carnal, intimate, literal kind.... Visually I imagine the short as stark, “brutal” and somewhat cold, while in direct contrast to the pulsing and urgent hunger exhibited within the performances. My vision for the film embodies the aesthetic of Lanthimos’ Dogtooth or Kieslowski’s “The Decameron”, with the erotic desperation of Haneke’s “The Piano Teacher”. As a filmmaker, I create work in an effort to cozy up to my most burning questions and to scratch and pry at them with playfulness, curiosity and most ardently with love. It is with a persistent and nagging passion that I choose to investigate stories which explore the complexities of human nature and the beauty that lies in gray areas that are often neglected, misinterpreted or overlooked. As a teen I struggled greatly with both substance abuse and romantic addictions. And thus, I have spent the better part of my adult life investigating those tendencies through my art in an effort to understand their root causes more fully as well as to identify effective paths toward healing such pervasive and insidious habits. With “Hungry” I wish to further explore themes of codependency, addiction and fear of loneliness, while showcasing explicitly, the ecstasy of a connection that is more than skin deep.

KEY CREW

Sarah Elizabeth Mintz - Writer/director

My name is Sarah Elizabeth Mintz. I live in Brooklyn with my dog, Suki. Suki doesn’t give a damn if I am skilled, nor if my work is produced, but I care a great deal about these things. I'm compelled by a nagging curiosity (some call it inspiration), to share stories that examine human intimacy and longing for connection. I’m driven by the unwavering belief that my films will move audiences closer to one another. Some notes on my education and previous work: — I graduated from NYU’s Tisch — I directed a thesis short TRANSIT starring Dakota Johnson — I worked as the assistant to Cary Fukunaga, Joachim Trier and Alejandro Innaritu — I was a fellow in the 2017 Sundance Writer’s Intensive — I wrote/directed/produced GOOD GIRL JANE, which won “Founder’s Award for Best US Narrative Feature” at Tribeca Festival in 2022 — I am preparing to shoot my sophomore feature THE MAID OF ORLEANS this Spring in Paris, France.