With the Venice, Telluride and Toronto trifecta of film festivals over, but New York and London gearing up, fall is the time when the very best cinema has to offer gets rolled out. But among all the buzzworthy titles reaching for Oscar gold, there are plenty more films just looking to find an audience. And while they may not boast big names and budgets, they may offer up something unexpected for the adventurous viewer, and one movie hoping to make a splash is Wei Ling Chang's debut feature "The Unlikely Girl."
The film stars Hande Kodja, Pierre Boulanger and Shane Lynch, and follows an American exchange student spending the summer in France who becomes embroiled in a romantic triangle. This exclusive first clip from the movie gives a hint at the suspense and sexual tension that seems to be boiling beneath the surface. Here's the official synopsis:
The sexy noir thriller THE UNLIKELY GIRL explores the fine line between truth and reality. First time feature filmmaker Wei Ling Chang has created a taut, world where suspense and deceit lurk at every turn.
After a racy encounter with a stranger on a train, the beautiful Cécile (Hande Kodja) arrives at a family vacation house in the south of France to unwind. When she travels into town, she runs into an old childhood crush, Luc (Pierre Boulanger), who can’t believe that it’s really her after all of these years. As they begin to rekindle their intense longing for each other, they are surprised by the arrival of an American college exchange student, Jamie (Shane Lynch).
Cecile is initially annoyed by Jamie’s intrusion but then in an unlikely turn, they bond as Jamie uncovers a dark truth about Cécile’s childhood. Soon even Cécile encourages Jamie to take Luc for herself. When Cécile’s brother, Matthieu, mysteriously shows up at the house things take another unexpected turn as each has a very different version of their childhood. Someone is lying – Cecile? Matthieu? Luc? Or maybe they all are.
Jamie was in for a summer of French immersion but finds herself tangled in a web of sexual intrigue and family drama like she never could have imagined.
"The Unlikely Girl" will screen at the Vancouver International Film Festival which kicks off on September 27th. Click here for showtimes, and watch the clip below.
