SECOND LOOK
-a-
HYPERREAL FILM CLUB series
-at-
the MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT
-presents-

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
Directed by Desiree Akhavan
2014

7pm – doors // drinks // live set – DJ Ariel Lagunas
8pm – “We Are Artists” with director B.B. Araya
815pm – APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

Suggested $5 donation at the door
Screenings every other Thursday (mostly) all winter long
PART ~SIX~ of ~SEVEN~

//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\

The feature debut of Desiree Akhavan, “Appropriate Behavior,” opens with the writer/director/star casually carrying a strap-on dildo down a Brooklyn street. Therein lies both the irony that makes the title so humorous and the thesis statement of her film: Akhavan is going to take her sexuality and walk it down the street for all to see—but in a cool, funny, casual way, with a healthy dose of irreverent self-awareness. Akhavan stars as Shirin, a bisexual Brooklynite going through a devastating breakup with her girlfriend Maxine. She’s also underemployed and almost magnetically drawn to the ridiculous situations that make living in a big city both exciting and ludicrous. To top it off, Shirin has the added challenge of living up to the expectations of her very particular Iranian-American family.

In the wake of her breakup, Shirin bed-hops, putting the motto “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else,” to the test. Thus, the film is rife with awkward sexual encounters and experimentation, but that’s not the only view of sex that “Appropriate Behavior” has—there are also moments of truly sexy intimacy, both casual and loving. What the film does so well is show how these two things coexist; how it can turn on a dime from hot to awkward, much like real life. There’s no condemnation or celebration of sex in this film, the sex just exists, in a very normal and healthy way—pleasure, hilarity, disappointment, and all. What this movie is trying to say is, let’s all carry our strap-ons down the street because we want to carry our strap-ons down the street, and we won’t be embarrassed by it.

-IndieWire

take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjZ80dLFFfE

|||

About the short:

"We Are Artists" follows imposter syndrome ridden photographer, Evelyn, throughout a farcical day of interesting encounters. 

B.B. Araya is a filmmaker based in Austin, TX whose work explores humanity through the lens of women of the African diaspora. She's interned for Richard Linklater at Detour Filmproduction and much of her work has been feature on Issa Rae's YouTube channel.

wearefilmseries.com

\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//

hyperreal film club is a time and a place for new friends, old friends, freaks, geeks, enemies, lovers, and ghosts to come watch some neat flicks.

SECOND LOOK, a bi-weekly series running from December – March, brings back to the big screen seven films by women, all released in the past five years, all featuring diverse perspectives on both sides of the camera. With this series, we want to progress as an advocate for the current work of adventurous, diverse filmmakers and as a community film hub for Austin.