For writer-director Katarina Zhu, there was no one she wanted to make her debut film with more than her NYU classmate Rachel Sennott. The two relied on each other to get through hard times, including an ugly breakup during the pandemic.
“The things we’ve been through, you don’t even want to know!” Sennott quipped at TheWrap’s Sundance Studio presented by World of Hyatt.
But Zhu does sort of want people to know about one of those things, as her breakup served as the inspiration for “Bunnylovr,” a film in which she plays a cam girl living in New York who, in her isolation, finds herself in a toxic relationship with a client, played by Austin Amelio.
“I was interested in exploring that space that you’re in when you’re super heartbroken and you’re vulnerable, and you’re so much more willing to put yourself out there in ways that you might not normally be,” Zhu said. “From there, I think it just became this much more holistic exploration of a young woman and her relationship with the men in her life, and how she’s able to claim agency over her sexuality and herself and find a direction forward.”
Sennott, who makes her feature film debut as a producer with the project, spoke warmly about her long history with Zhu, which included sending the filmmaker an early draft of the script for her 2023 comedy “Bottoms.”
“We went to acting school together. We lived together for an amazing year, and we’re best friends. And basically, we send each other every script we’ve ever written,” she said. “Getting to be with your friend and seeing them make art about something that you saw them go through too is so special and so rare.”
Amelio, who previously starred opposite Glen Powell in Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” had to do all of his scenes through a webcam. He said it was a challenge figuring out how to emote when his entire performance was trapped inside of a tiny digital box.
“I did want to f–king break out of the box, yeah,” he said. “I was trying to give movement, or whatever you could in that parameter. It was a big challenge trying to figure out what you could do in a camera. “
Watch the full interview with the cast of “Bunnylovr” in the video above.
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