Film Movement has just released a new trailer for their upcoming teen coming-of-age film, Tahara. Tahara tells the story of two teen girls who are both pushed into a journey of self-discovery after they share a kiss at the funeral of a Hebrew school classmate. The dark comedy deals with themes such as race, sexuality, identity, and death. Tahara features Madeline Grey DeFreece and Rachel Sennott in the leading roles, while Shlomit Azoulay, Daniel Taveras, and Bernadette Quigley round out the rest of the cast. Olivia Peace directed the film from a script by Jess Zeidman.
The trailer, showcasing the film's unique aspect ratio, opens with the two leading characters walking into their classmate's funeral while the actors' names stylishly flash across the screen. The two friends discuss boys, hooking up, and what makes a good kisser, before the two kiss each other to see if one of them is a good kisser. When the kiss happens, everything turns into claymation, showcasing how transformative the kiss ended up being. As the trailer goes on, it seems DeFreece's character starts to catch feelings, while Sennott's character seems more fixated on boys. Frantic energy completely overtakes the trailer by the end, showing a dark comedy that may or may not have a good amount of heart.
Tahara screened at the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival and director Peace won Best Directorial Feature Debut of a Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker at NewFest 2020. The film also won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest 2020 and was an official selection at TIFF's Next Wave 2021. Tahara has received very positive reactions from critics, currently holding a rare 100 percent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Tahara is the second festival darling to star Sennott and features a funeral as the central setting after Shiva Baby. Shiva Baby proved to be a breakthrough role for Sennott, earning her much praise including being nominated for the Breakthrough Artist Award at Austin Film Critics Association, Breakthrough Performer at the 2021 Gotham Awards, and several other nominations. Sennott will next be seen in A24's upcoming slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies as well as the films Susie Searches, Brooke & Sam, and Bottoms. DeFreece is basically a newcomer, but has appeared in several episodes of the series Blue Bloods, and will appear in the upcoming films The Cosmos Sisters and Summoners.
Tahara opens in theaters on June 10 at the Quad Cinema in New York City. Check out the trailer for Tahara below.