It Felt Like Love
Directed by Eliza Hittman
In this unflinchingly honest and refreshingly unsentimental coming-of-age story, 14-year-old Lila (Gina Piersanti, in a remarkable debut) spends a languid South Brooklyn summer playing third wheel to her promiscuous friend Chiara and Chiara's boyfriend Patrick. Eager for her own sexual awakening, Lila gamely decides to pursue the older, thuggish Sammy, rumored to sleep with anyone. But as Lila's overt advances unmask her inexperience and quiet desperation, she is quickly pushed into frightening and unwelcome new territory.
Lila (Gina Piersanti), a lonely teen from Gravesend, fabricates a story about dating Sammy -- a thug -- and becomes fixated on it happening. In a predatory way, she pursues a sexual encounter with Sammy, but she becomes the prey.
Cast: Gina Piersanti