FRIEND OF A FRIEND
Directed by Zachary Zezima
Produced by Ron Dyens
France, 2020
14 min
A young man is sexually assaulted and subdues, punishes, then befriends his own attacker while confronting his past and the ambiguities of sexuality. Part fiction, part non-fiction, part autobiography and part dream, Friend of a Friend attempts to broaden the conversation around abuse and its motivations and implications, as well as the survivor vs. assailant dynamic and results of ostracism.
Friend of a friend is unlike any animated film I’ve ever seen. It’s shockingly graphic and really mirrors what PTSD can feel like. It travels through time in a jarring but effective way, exploring the complicated feelings that can come from assault. It’s really rare to see a film explore what sexual assault is like from a male perspective and director Zachary Zezima does so with incredible complexity.
— Jillian Corsie, Programmer