Institute History
Description
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic
Nancy is a 35-year-old temp living with her mom and cat in a modest home in a modest town. She is also an aspiring writer whose submissions are consistently rejected by the likes of the Atlantic and the Paris Review. To make up for these failures and the invisibility she feels, Nancy spins elaborate lies and hoaxes under pseudonyms on the internet. When she encounters a couple whose 5-year-old daughter went missing 30 years ago, fact and fiction begin to blur in Nancy’s mind, and she becomes increasingly convinced these strangers are her real parents.
Nothing is extraneous or emotionally gratuitous in this riveting drama of characters seeking to restore lost intimacy. Authentic performances by an extraordinary cast and exacting, restrained direction by first-time feature filmmaker Christina Choe create a chilling, aching tension as we attempt to anticipate Nancy’s next move. At times morally ambiguous, at times heartbreakingly raw and honest, NANCY presents a female anti-hero for times like ours—when, for better or for worse, posturing and storytelling are the instruments we use to overcome loneliness and desperation.