FLOWER CITY SPOTLIGHT

Two best friends are in for an unexpectedly emotional day in Olivia Peace's anxious, youthfully charged film, Tahara. Set here in Rochester, Peace's film explores sexuality and identity as the young women cope with the confusing loss of a former Hebrew school classmate and find their friendship tested by unspoken feelings.

Carrie (Madeline Grey DeFreece) is very introverted while Hannah (Rachel Sennott) is a bored chatterbox. Hannah is determined to catch the eye of her curly-haired crush, Tristan, even though a blossoming zit on her face threatens to ruin her flirting. Carrie and Hannah visit their synagogue to attend a group grief counseling session in order to process their feelings over the recent death of a childhood friend, but as the afternoon progresses, more emotions bubble to the surface.

When Hannah asks Carrie to kiss her in order to test her prowess, it awakens something in Carrie that she has never acknowledged before. She always thought she had feelings for Hannah, but she never believed she'd have the opportunity to express them. However, when Hannah doesn't reciprocate, Carrie feels isolated and alone. She clings to other classmates in the therapy session even though Carrie never held them in a high regard.

Peace's intimate film truly captures the feeling of kissing the person that you've long admired from afar. When the two girls lock lips for the first time, Tahara melts into an adolescent fever dream for just a few seconds — everyone in the audience can relate to that kiss. By the end of the film, the bond between the girls will be forever changed. Can Carrie learn to speak up and express how she feels? Or will Hannah's selfishness suffocate them all?

The two leads have a playful and intelligent chemistry with one another. DeFreece has a quiet power and the more she pulls Carrie out of her shell, the more you want her to live as herself. Sennott, who is equally great in Shiva Baby, is delightfully vapid.

The girls’ budding sexuality is contrasted against the film's undercurrent of loss and grief; its title comes from the Hebrew word for the ritual cleansing of a body before burial. Tahara was written by Rochester native Jess Zeidman, who says that in writing the script, “I focused on what I hadn't seen on screen: queer stories about teenagers, contemporary American Jewish life on screen, and, in all honesty, the Rochester, NY I grew up in and love on screen.” Tahara might be seemingly quiet but its bleeding heart is huge.

~ Joey Moser

Jury Special Mention, US Narrative Feature – Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival

Official Selection – Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival

Official Selection – Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival