SYDNEY & KIM is a film about the demise of a close friendship, exploring how sickness and debility transform what we hold most dear.
“Equally motivated by Mumblecore filmmaking of the 1990s and the New Topographics landscape photography movement of the 1970s, Sydney & Kim theorizes SoCal “shitty heaven” as an allegory for the ubiquity of white feminine influencer culture. Inspired by the performativity in 90s films like Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso [1998], Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan [1990], and Richard Linklater’s Tape [2001], the narrative arc is driven by dialogic events.
As each character’s flaws and strengths are revealed, the audience is left to wonder who’s the hero and who’s the villain. Ultimately, the friendship itself becomes the main character, as its toxic logic motivates Sydney and Kim’s actions. Sydney & Kim analyzes the challenges of queer and trans chosen family, where liberatory mantras of interdependence collapse into revenge fantasies.” – Hazel Katz