If you’re reading this then you may have seen the world premiere of This Really Happened at the Tribeca Film Festival. If for some reason you didn’t, then you have something to add to your ‘to-do’ list this week.
Featured in the “Indie Episodic” category, This Really Happened (because it did) follows two women, Kate (Kallen Prosterman) and Zoe (Olivia AbiAssi). While both are making headway toward their creative pursuits, they’re attempting the balancing act of doing so while traversing the dating landscape in New York City. Things take a turn after the ladies discover they’ve been dating the same person: “Boy” (Abubakr Ali). Once their worlds collide, the pair are determined to create a revenge project and recount their experiences via on-camera interviews.
As you can probably tell, Freddy F***boy (this might be why he’s called “Boy”) was pretty trash in his handling of both women. Had he informed them upfront of his intentions, that would be different, but Kate was unaware of Zoe and vice versa. The ladies’ fault lies in all the signs that were ignored. As they work diligently on their revenge project, they incorporate literal red flags into their recap to show the glaring signs that were missed.
As the pair go back to when all the bad decisions began, they give a visual of their swiping. If you swipe left on a profile or image on dating apps, that means you’re not interested. Both Kate and Zoe were swiping left but for different reasons. For example, Zoe swiped left on a guy because he loved The Office. Kate swiped left on the only thing worse than a “Gym Bro”, a “Gym Selfie Guy”. It’s a collection of very relatable experiences turned into an episode for our viewing. Dating in today’s culture is an arduous process, and because of this, the best thing you can do about this harrowing environment is laugh about it.
Here’s the screening schedule for This Really Happened during the Tribeca Film Festival:
WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING | THE VILLAGE EAST | JUNE 9TH | 6:00 PM EST
SECOND PUBLIC SCREENING | AMC 19TH STREET | JUNE 12TH | 8:15 PM EST
THIRD PUBLIC SCREENING | THE VILLAGE EAST| JUNE 16TH | 2:15 PM EST
More information as well as links to buy tickets are available on the festival website
This Really Happened gets an 8 out of 10. I could easily see this made into a full season on a streaming platform. Even though I’m married (and thank God), both my wife and I can easily recall how murky the water was in the dating pool. It’s an empowering, femme-led project sprinkled with light humor and easy to digest. It’s not over-the-top hilarious, but there’s enough of a draw to keep you engaged.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of NBARUCH PR