Get in, losers, we’re going to the Florida Film Festival. More specifically, to check out your new favorite sapphic thriller of the summer.
Josalynn Smith has brought their directorial debut, Ride or Die, to this year’s FFF, with a final screening on Friday, April 17, for a combo screening and Q&A.
Ride or Die is a queer “anti-romance” road-trip thriller that is reminiscent of the heyday of 1990s New Queer Cinema. While Smith says that their film was greatly inspired by Gregg Araki’s classic 1992 thriller The Living End, Ride or Die takes on a life of its own by exploring themes of race and class through the relationship of a sapphic “odd” couple.
“I really wanted to make a queer film that spoke to intracommunal challenges. A lot of queer dating and relationships are interracial, but just because we share queerness doesn’t mean we share every other type of experience,” Smith says. “Sometimes it’s hard to know who to sympathize with when their pain is at odds with each other, and that’s intentional.”
The three-act film tells the story of Paula (Briana Middleton) and Sloane (Stella Everett), a classic case of opposites attracting, as a cross-country roadtrip becomes a tense thriller. Smith, who has been recognized by Sundance and SFFILM, says that Ride or Die is a “good adult date-night flick” that isn’t afraid to portray realistic queer sex.
“We’ve all had that pairing in our lives where it didn’t make sense to outsiders,” Smith says. “It’s pure electric attraction when you can be seen as the person you want to be seen as by your lover.”
While there is sensual romance involved, Ride or Die shows vividly that your dream girl can still make your life a nightmare.
“In 1964 Jean-Luc Godard said all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun, and Ride or Die has two girls and a gun, so make of that what you will,” Smith says.
Ride or Die plays at 2 p.m. Friday, April 17, at the Regal Winter Park Village as part of the Florida Film Festival. Smith will host a Q & A following the screening. Tickets can be purchased through the FFF’s website.