Stuckwitu (2020)

Directed by: Timo Ottevanger | 10 minutes | drama, comedy, short film | Actors: Zoe Love Smith, Nora el Koussour, Walid Taha El Idrissi

“Act your age, not your shoesize” (Prince)
“You are as young as you feel” (tile wisdom)
“I don’t want to go to school and learn solemn things.” (Peter Pan)
“You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever” (Germaine Greer)

Become older. If we’re lucky, we’ll all have to deal with that. While one child cannot wait until it is an adult to be allowed to do adult things, the other prefers to hold on to that youthfulness for as long as possible. This can be expressed in clothing choices or other lifestyle issues. While everyone should of course just do what they feel like and feel comfortable with, it’s not always common or accepted to stick with your teenage years. In ‘Stuckwitu’ twenty-somethings Gaby and Kesh find out the hard way…

Gaby and Kesh have been friends since their teens. While many peers are busy with studies or work, the two women run away from the responsibility that comes with their adulthood. They prefer to spend time in the parking lot in front of the supermarket where one of them works. They reminisce about their teenage years and can get lost together in the sweet musings of parties and hallucinatory trips. When they overhear a group of girls talking about an upcoming foam party, they decide to go there too. This can only lead to disappointment…

‘Stuckwitu’ is funny and tragic at the same time. Leading characters Zoë Love Smith (Kesh) and Nora el Koussour (Gaby) do a great job of shaping their characters in the short running time. Their longing for the past is understandable, but the realization that it will never come back hits hard. You empathize with them, but at the same time you would like to let them know that they really need to become a little more ambitious. Getting old doesn’t hurt, as long as you move with the waves. For Kesh and Gaby, that one night out is an inexorable lesson. Wisdom comes with age.