When a 30-something who is hopelessly hung-up on her ex-boyfriend accidentally ends up at his house during his engagement party, she decides to sabotage everything and win him back – a plan that is hampered by the fact that she has the dead body of her abusive boss hidden in her car out front.

This Strasburg Film Festival comedy was directed by Mikael Kreuzriegler and written by Allison Volk. 

Mikael’s work has been screened at the Berlinale, the Sundance Film Festival, the Directors Guild of America and many film festivals around the world. He earned his Magister philosophiae degree in German Literature, Philosophy and Theater Studies upon a thesis on Ernst Lubitsch’s musical comedies from the University of Vienna. He received an MFA in film production from USC.

When asked about this film, Mikael provided the following statement:

This is a deeply romantic story about an outsider, a young woman still suffering from a bad breakup. What I was most interested in as director was the story’s unique tone, resulting from the combination of a comedic, at times even farcical story-framework, with a darker, more absurdist side.

Deany, the protagonist, is a flawed anti-hero, a character struggling to get grip on her life – and a character that doesn’t conform to the usual “easy likability” aspects of a typical Hollywood film.

Our approach was to apply a realistic, almost documentary-style visual treatment: naturalistic, truthful performances; naturalistic lighting, handheld, simple camera work, minimal lighting to allow for flexibility in the blocking of the actors; the visual style is intended to play on the constant tension between the three emotional cornerstones of the story: Deany’s initial lethargy – the franticness of the farcical central complications – and Deany’s frequent romantic day-dreams. We were inspired by the work of John Cassavetes, Wong Kar Wai’s Days of Being Wild, and PT Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, as well the Duplass brothers’ TV-Series TOGETHERNESS – films by filmmakers who are interested in exploring human interaction, films that put the characters and performances at the center.

The official schedule along with the film guide will be released Sunday, September 9th. At that point, you can buy a wide variety of passes/tickets to the film festival. All proceeds of the event will go to the Shenandoah County Public School’s theatre programs.
Prices will range:
– $30 for the full three days
– $10 dollars for one day
– $4 for one session