Sunkiss (2024)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

Two young friends, Alex (Katie Otter) and Sofia (Viva Hassis Gentes), living life to the fullest. They skip school, smoke weed, hang out with strangers, and do whatever they can to enjoy themselves. One of them holds a secret, one that has the potential to upend their friendship. But if that secret stays locked up any longer, they run the same risk. Sunkiss is a love story,  but it’s far from conventional. 

Sunkiss is a genuine love story that tells a tale of unrequited love, a love that we’ve all experienced, a love that is debilitating. You can feel the emotion, the staleness present within the rejected character, within the film as a whole. That staleness resonated with me, gave me a visceral reaction that existed throughout the entirety of the film. 

That character is Alex, and Otter does a spectacular job of ensuring that viewers understand the intensity with which she feels. There’s not a lot of substance through the majority of Sunkiss, and the film relies heavily on the final minute or two working exactly as planned. Otter is the key to that aspect of the film’s success–and she’s splendid as the film comes to a close. The pain that exists on her face is easily understood, and she effectively wraps everything up in those closing moments. 

Additionally, the tightness of the shots that focus on Alex toward the end of the film heightens the intensity and allows us even more opportunity to understand and appreciate Alex and her plights. Sunkiss is full of emotion, and the expertise of Director of Photography Dice Rose allows that emotion to be fully realized. While Otter is brilliant in her performance, the cinematography allows her to shine even brighter, for her facial expressions to be prominently featured in the film’s final moments. The combination of expertise wraps Sunkiss up nicely. 

Viewers remain emotionally captivated and torn at the film’s conclusion. The fact of the matter is that the purpose of the film isn’t fully understood until the film is just about to come to a close–and in those moments viewers are now forced to bear the weight of Alex’s emotional struggle. Sunkiss ends with us wanting more, but not necessarily needing it. With the heavy burden of love weighing us down, Writer-Director Rose and Co-Writer Samantha Clay leave us with nothing else, ending the film swiftly and beautifully. 

Sunkiss is a slow burn–and when it prepares to come to a close, viewers are hit in the face emotionally. Sunkiss is brilliantly constructed, with Rose pulling the strings for most of the production, while allowing Otter to shine her brightest, to effectively tell Alex’s story and reel viewers in emotionally. An incredibly short film, Sunkiss hits all the right emotional notes and possesses the same level of gravitas as a feature length film, condensed into one, highly effective short story. 

Directed by Dice Rose. 

Written by Samantha Clay & Dice Rose. 

Starring Katie Otter, Viva Hassis Gentes, Nick Grace, Preston Beyer, etc. 

8.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING