Imagine - Embrace Me (+ Shiner)

Joaquin likes to hang around with friends, smoke pot and watch films. One night, Josefine stays with him and they have sex. The next day she is gone, leaving blood in the bathtub. After that, strange things start to happen to Joaquin. A fortune teller tells him the shocking truth. A daring, scary and disorienting debut with a fresh voice and a stoner sense of humour.

One of the most unusual films this year, Embrace Me is often quirky and adorable, but also scary and disorienting when it needs to be. The solid cinematography and the young, extremely easygoing cast are a treat, making the audience feel what it is like being young, loved-up and shit-faced. Joaquin is the perfect anti-hero and first time director Javier Rao seems to enjoy all the bad things that come to haunt him. After a laid-back start, the film becomes seriously creepy after Josefine”s disappearance. A daring, scary and disorienting debut with a fresh voice and an undeniably stoner sense of humour.