Shut Eye (Asia Pacific, International)
Key Cast: Amber Liberté, Millie Van Kol, Sarah May
Director: Tom Levesque
Producer: Eva Trebilco
Screenwriter: Tom Levesque
Cinematographer: Kelly Chen
Composer: Allan Zaya, Curits Holdack
A disconnected young woman becomes dangerously obsessed with an ASMR streamer in this disorientating, distinctive debut from New Zealand.
Scraping by in a thankless job and suffering from chronic insomnia, lonely twentysomething Sierra turns to the online world of ASMR, where she meets Kate, a streamer whose soothing voice quickly becomes her virtual companion. When the two women meet in person, they discover there’s chemistry beyond the virtual. It’s not long before Sierra becomes increasingly fixated on Kate – which only intensifies when she feels their relationship is threatened.
Featuring charismatic, opposites-attract performances from young newcomers Millie Van Kol and Sarah May, Tom Levesque’s impressive, refreshingly innovative micro-budget debut bottles up the anxious energy of our socially isolated era. Tense and gripping, Shut Eye complicates its characters’ sense of the real and delivers an eerie portrait of voyeurism, loneliness and the morally murky limits of desperation.
“A perceptive and morally fascinating exploration of the risks of trying to find connection in an online world, made all the more special by two outstanding lead performances … Highly original and engaging.” – Otago Daily Times