The indie film Suicide Kale has become a dark horse on the queer film festival circuit this year.
Already winning awards at Outfest, North Louisiana Gay & Lesbian Film Fest, LA Diversity Film Fest, Queer North, and Queer Hippo Int’l LGBT Fest, this dark comedy finds new couple Jasmine and Penn faced with a catastrophe.
Written by Brittani Nichols and directed by Carly Usdin, the film was shot in five 8-hour days in Eagle Rock, California and two-thirds of the film was improvised.
When new couple Penn and Jasmine arrive at the home of the happiest couple they know Billie and Jordan for a lunch date. However, Billie and Jordan spend much of the time bickering. Jasmine finds a note stuffed under the mattress in Billie and Jordan’s room and is shocked at what she’s just read.
Once alone with Penn, Jasmine reveals the note is a suicide note, but she does not know if Billie or Jordan wrote it. They both decide they have a responsibility to their friends to find out who the note belongs to and they rejoin their friends. Throughout the meal, they discuss careers, religion, death, and love. As the conversation continues, Penn becomes less worried and Jasmine more.
Suicide Kale is Carly Usdin’s first feature film. She stated that “If people only take one thing away from seeing the film, I hope it’s that a group of talented, creative women is a very powerful thing. This was one of the most inspiring, educational and exciting experiences of my life and I can’t wait to do it again.”
Watch the trailer for Suicide Kale below: