fuck you

From a very young age, we’re taught about how society expects us to behave. Boys and girls are assigned different traits and expectations which often ignore individual desires and wants. This week’s Staff Pick Premiere, “Fuck You” by filmmaker Anette Sidor, challenges these gender norms when a young girl uses a strap-on to explore a new side of herself.

The film’s playful opening introduces Alice, a curious teenager exploring a sex shop with her friends. Her joyful afternoon is interrupted when she meets up with her boyfriend Johannes and feels restricted by her gender. In protest, Alice impulsively puts on the strap-on and finds herself surprisingly excited by how she feels.

Sidor’s film sharply observes how gender and power dynamics influence the situation. Luckily, her curious characters push past the norms to explore their sexuality and rethink what it means to be masculine and feminine. “Fuck You” culminates with an empowering and liberating ending that has connected with audiences around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Locarno Film Festival.