Ann Oren

Piaffe

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Director Ann Oren Music (original) Munsha, äbvsd, VTSS Cast Simone Bucio, Sebastian Rudolph, Simon Jaikiriuma Paetau

Explore Zone On the Edge LGBTQ+ New Voices

3.7/5

Edition 2022

Official Selection

86' - 2022 - Mystery, Drama, Avant-Garde / Experimental, LGBT+ - Dialogue: German, English

Piaffe is the liberating story of a complex sexuality. A sensual mix of Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke of Burgundy with a touch of 'bio-eroticism'. Queer, kinky and fascinating.

A shy young woman is given the task of recording the sound effects for a commercial featuring a horse. Piaffe (an equestrian term for a trot in place or nearly in place) gives the audience a chance to look with their bodies and touch with their eyes, promises Tel Aviv-born filmmaker and visual artist Ann Oren. Her first narrative feature originates from the award-winning short film Passage (2020) in which Oren also explores the boundaries between humans, animals and plants. She calls Piaffe a love letter to the lesser-known magicians of cinema and a playful celebration of otherness. And what shines really through is the almost unworldly appearance of the Mexican actress Simone Bucio (La región salvaje, El deseo de Ana).

"Oren relishes the building up of a scene, using sound and image to suggest the most exciting and mysterious of sensations. There is a celebratory trans subplot with a shout-out to the sexual characteristics of ferns. This is a sexy, queer and questioning gem." - IndieWire