ANA (34) and BEN (31) are a cohabiting boyfriend and girlfriend. Their relationship consists of a diet of playful, loving, and often disgusting banter, that allows them to make a joke of everything, and avoid conversations that are serious, important, and vulnerable.
The film starts on an average morning, Ana and Ben are brushing their teeth and discussing Ana’s upcoming doctor’s appointment. Ben is planning to go with her, but Ana suggests that it will be “gross” and he shouldn’t come. Ben assumes Ana is just nervous and calms her with a promise to buy her breakfast at a diner after the appointment.
At the appointment, we realize that Ana is seeing a fertility specialist, DR. SCHNEIDER, to determine if she must freeze her eggs due to a progressing medical diagnosis. It is revealed that Ben is the one paying for the procedure. Ana tries her usual tricks, trying to charm Dr. Schneider through humor, but the doctor is not easily amused, and has seen the humor-as-deflection too many times. She wants none of it. She gives Ana an unwelcome reality check, telling her that she should get serious about her fertility right away. She also encourages Ben and Ana to freeze embryos if they are planning on being together long-term. This revelation freaks them both out thoroughly.
At the diner, things are awkward and quiet for the first time. They sip their coffee, and feebly attempt to get a few jokes going. The unspoken and massive elephant in the room: are they ready to combine their genetic material? Ben, always the braver and more communicative of these two people who do not know how to communicate, is the first to broach the topic and begs Ana to be serious for once. Ben is ready. Ana is not.
The love is evident, but the inability to grow up and make decisions might win in the end.
Liza RenzulliLiza Renzulli is a New York-based filmmaker who makes dark comedies that explore the complexities of womanhood, modern digital life, ambivalence, female friendships, bodies, and frustration. Currently pursuing her MFA in Directing and Screenwriting at SUNY Stony Brook/Killer Films, Liza's passion for storytelling has been a throughline of her career.
With her company, CHIX Productions, Liza has directed and produced branded content for companies such as T Brand Studio at the New York Times, Brides Magazine, Airbnbmag, and AOL. Her expertise as an editor spans across various genres, with a particular emphasis on comedy. She has worked on various digital, streaming, commercial, and broadcast projects for networks including MTV, Comedy Central, and Animal Planet including 'Doing the Most with Phoebe Robinson'.
Liza has also written, directed, and edited multiple comedic shorts which have garnered millions of views and received praise from notable platforms including Buzzfeed, MTV, Marie Claire, and HuffPost.
At Stony Brook / Killer Films MFA she was granted a Sklar Fellowship. Her first-year MFA film, "A Lot of You Are Asking," played at several festivals in 2023 and won “Achievement in Writing” at the Bridgeport Film Festival. In 2023 she was granted the New York Women in Film and TV Scholarship and she is a current Princess Grace Foundation nominee. She was hired by SUNY Stony Brook to be an TA/Adjunct professor of film studies and screenwriting for undergraduate film students. Her second year short film Baby Criers is currently in post-production, with an anticipated festival run in 2024. .
