In Judaism, tahara refers to ritual purity – free from death and menstruation. Hannah’s thoughts during the funeral of a classmate who committed suicide drift off now and then to the impure. But why not, really? It’s all fake grief anyways. Not to mention the endless black and the tightly framed image. Under the circumstances, Hannah really is better off hiding in the bathroom, testing how excellently she can kiss with best friend Carrie. Step by step, the genuine attractions gradually reveal themselves in this queer coming-of-age film: Hannah wants Tristan, who wants Carrie, who wants Hannah. A tricky situation indeed. A triangle? A circle? The beginning of the end? An extraordinary feature-film debut.

Olivia Peace (she/they) is a queer Black interdisciplinary artist from Detroit, Michigan/USA living in Los Angeles. Their artistic style has been referred to lovingly (by Jess Zeidman) as “a hat on a hat… but like in a good way, you know?” They are heavily informed by hip hop, B-movies, and a family history of bipolar disorder and believe that style helps to facilitate agency in people and so they set out to create work that’s replete with style.

Filmography: 2015 LUCID, 2016 PANGAEA (both short films), 2020 TAHARA

Awards: Special Mention (L.A. Outfest, USA 2020), Directorial Feature Debut Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award (NewFest: New York’s LGBT Film Festival, USA 2020)