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Logline

After a sexual encounter turns harrowing, a young woman in New York City learns how to stand her ground.

Synopsis

During an evening run, ARIA (25) yields to a male runner in order to avoid a collision. Losing momentum, she turns to check in on her running buddy DAVI (25), who is lacking behind. As their workout ends, the two friends fall into bed together, agreeing to have protected sex. They’re both enthusiastic about it until Aria notices, after the fact, that Davi has removed the condom. Without confronting him, Aria heads home. Four days later an unknown pain breaks out forcing her to look for affordable gynecological care. When she arrives at a midtown clinic that can’t see her, she finds herself harassed by an anti-abortion activist. Later, she reaches an urgent care where the DOCTOR tells her she has contracted a sexually transmitted infection. The doctor, also a woman, offers comfort and reassurance but inadvertently judges the young woman, reminding her to use a condom the next time around. Aria absorbs the news walking alone by the East River, when she spots a male runner approaching from her opposite direction. As she advances, the runner does too, but she doesn’t budge this time around. She’s done with yielding, and as they near each other, they collide.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Federica Belletti – Writer/Director
Federica Belletti is a filmmaker originally from Italy, based in New York. She was a Location Manager on TAPE, ITALIAN STUDIES, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, and worked as Assistant to producers Anna Gerb and Neal Dodson (TRIPLE FRONTIERS). Federica has produced twelve award-winning narrative shorts that played at 150+ festivals worldwide, including SXSW, the Hamptons Film Festival, Montclair Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival. Amongst them, REFUGE  sold to The New Yorker Magazine in 2022 and AYAAN was long-listed for an Academy Award® in 2023. Currently, Federica produces for Film Manufacturers Inc, is in post-production with KEEP IT OPEN by Lucy Teitler and PINK FLAGS by Misha Calvert. She is a graduate of the Columbia University MFA Producing Program, an alumna of the Tribeca Film Institute as well as BAFTA Los Angeles.

Nina Cochran – Producer
Nina Cochran is a New York based producer. After earning a BA in Art History at Williams College, she worked as Literary Assistant to novelist John Irving (The Cider House Rules, for which he also won the Academy Award). Nina was a freelance photojournalist at the New York Daily News and Hartford Courant. She worked on The King of Staten Island, Marry Me, while also producing a number of short films, music videos, and commercials. She was a producer on Lump, a forthcoming feature by Alexandre Rockwell. She is a recent graduate of the MFA Film program in Creative Producing at Columbia University.

Mahak Jiwani – Producer
Mahak Jiwani is a Creative Executive at Jigsaw Productions. Originally from Pakistan, in 2019 she produced DARLING which won the Best Short Film Orizzonti Award at the Venice Film Festival. She on Alex Gibney’s THE FOREVER PRISONER (News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary). Her previous films include: PREMONICIÓN, YUME, HORIZON, and CONGRATULATIONS. Her work has received support from Focus Features and IFP. She is a BAFTA newcomer member and a graduate of the Creative Producing program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

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Contact

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