As a first -time filmmaker, writing and directing is enough to put on the plate, but with “Bunnylovr,” Actress Katarina Zhu knew that the whole driving force for creating the project was to create the kind of character she longed to play. When Zhu talked to IndieWires Ryan Lattanzio in Sundances IndieWire Studio, presented by Dropbox, Zhu was joined by her actor, which includes her friend and companion from Nyu and Stella Adler Studio, Rachel Sennott.
Reminds of their time at school together, Sennott told IndieWire“We had to walk around the actor school and say a word to describe what energy you gave away. Everyone for me was like stones. She could work in a grocery store and be really high. It was mine. But for Catherine, it was, queen, angel, whatever. ”
Although Zhu appreciated this memory, her actual performance results were hampered after graduation of the limited roles available to her, a fact that helped her create “Bunnylovr” Although she did not initially think about taking on the lead role she wrote, while the process continued, she realized that it was not something she could give up to someone else.
“My transition to writing, directing, I think was born out of the lack of seeing myself in the things I would go out for, when it comes to auditions,” Zhu said. “The material I read was not a resonance with me, so I wanted to write roles for myself that felt more authentic for my experience. And so it was quite natural for me to play the role.”
While Zhus character Rebecca is the dominant focus of the piece, “Bunnylovr” also reflects the strange, toxic men that many women come into contact with both living in New York City and online. One of Rebecca’s customers in film played by “Hit Man” Star Austin Amelio, who faced the unique challenge of filming all his scenes via webcam.
“The logistics was that I was in a very small bathroom – small hot Bathroom – on the webcam. And yes, it was strange. However, we were right next to each other, but it was strange, Amelio said about the experience. “Normally you act with someone, and you are in their energy field, or something like that, and something happens. And yes, I guess it was quite interesting to do it over the webcam.”
Jack Kilmer’s involvement in “Bunnyovr” may be even stranger, given that he has only one scene, but it makes a huge impact on the film as a whole.
“I just got into the last day of their photography actually,” Kilmer said, “but Katarina was super generic with her limited time and sat with me and talked about the character and themes, and I struggled her a lot. I wanted to memorable and related. “
In the same way, Perry Yung, who plays Rebecca’s strange, gambling -dependent father, also wanted to dissect how his character helped to pave the way for the problems his daughter encounters throughout the film.
“I thought it was a very important part of the story, right? Because that’s where we really know, I think, the origin of what love is for this character, and it comes from trauma, handling trauma, says Yung to Indieview. “And this particular parent/child love, the parent has an addiction problem, right? So it creates problems. “
“Bunnyovr” premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2025. It is currently seeking distribution in the United States.
