When making a movie for the first time, some prefer to start by dipping their toes in. Others jump in headfirst, swim all the way to Park City, Utah, and premiere at the largest indie film festival in the country. That’s what Katarina Zhu — who graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts’ Drama program in 2018 — did when she wrote, directed and starred in her debut feature “Bunnylovr,” which screened at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
“As a writer-director-actor, I wanted the film to introduce me to people as all three in equal measure,” Zhu said in an interview with WSN.
The film follows online cam girl Becca (Zhu) and her toxic relationship with an obsessive client (Austin Amelio) after he gifts her a pet bunny. While she escapes into her erotic video chats at night, Becca must deal with her terminally ill father (Perry Yung), her emotionally unavailable ex-boyfriend (Jack Kilmer) and her spirited best friend Bella (Rachel Sennott) during the day.
Zhu experienced every first-time filmmaker’s dream when she brought “Bunnylovr” to Sundance. But the film’s excellence lies not in its festival acceptances, but in the magical, authentic way the footage feels directly uploaded from Zhu’s heart. The Chinese American filmmaker credits her time studying at NYU’s Stella Adler Studio of Acting and living in New York for inspiring the film’s pervasive sense of isolation. As a continued love letter to the city, “Bunnylovr” began its theatrical run on Friday at the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WSN: What was the thematic importance of setting the film in New York City?
Zhu: A big theme within the film is loneliness. When I was writing the film, I felt this really intense loneliness that I hadn’t ever felt before. New York is a really interesting setting for that sort of loneliness because you’re surrounded by people constantly, but you still feel so deeply alone.
Also, I really wanted to capture New York City’s Chinatown on film the way that I have experienced it growing up Asian American and, to be honest, rejecting parts of my culture in order to blend in and assimilate. I remember growing up, I didn’t want to learn Chinese because I had a fear that I would start to speak with an accent. I hadn’t ever seen an Asian American person’s relationship to Chinatown depicted in this way. I go down there and everybody looks like me, and that’s a really comforting, unique experience. But at the same time, if I try to talk to someone, they probably speak Cantonese, which I don’t know how to speak. It’s both things at once — it’s comforting and alienating.
WSN: From romance to family to friendship, the film explores many different types of love. How would you describe the type of love that grows between Becca and her bunny?
Zhu: Oh, my gosh. Oh, that’s such a good question. As she learns how to treat herself with care and love, in turn, she learns to treat the bunny with that same sort of care and love. It’s this self love that diffuses into the love that she feels for the bunny.
WSN: Throughout the film, you explore the theme of loneliness in the digital age, a feeling especially relevant to younger generations. What conversations do you hope ‘Bunnylovr’ will spark among young adult audiences?
Zhu: It’s never been easier to self-isolate. You don’t need to interact with anybody for anything if you don’t want to. You can get your groceries delivered to your house and not speak to anyone. It sounds so banal, but there’s an ease and a comfort that comes with not having to deal with other people in real life. But what you gain in feeling comfortable, you lose tenfold in terms of the joy that you could be experiencing.
I understand so much the desire to cocoon yourself in your room, and not engage with real life — but it’s always worth it, even if you fall flat on your face. Yes, sometimes the party sucks, but sometimes it’s worth it, and the only way you’re gonna find out is by going. So, go to the party.
WSN: What sorts of stories and ideas do you plan to explore in your future films?
Zhu: All of my favorite films deal with shame surrounding desire. I’m really interested in people who maybe do morally reprehensible things, but also equally charitable, good, even heroic things.
Also, I’m interested in exploring female friendships further. In ‘Bunnylovr,’ you got a little bit of that with Rebecca, the main character, and her best friend Bella. But I’m really interested in doing a future movie largely based around a female friendship.
“Bunnylovr” is currently playing at the Quad Cinema. Tickets are available online.
Contact SophieAnn DeVito at [email protected].