A young girl must figure out why everyone at the family dinner table is eating their soup with a fork.

Director’s Statement

I wrote this film as a commentary on power structures and herd mentality, with the goal of showing how a group of rational individuals can be made to act in irrational ways.

UTENSILS focuses on Chloe, the youngest member of a six-person family. When Chloe sits down in front of a bowl of soup at the dinner table, she is confused to see the rest of the family eating their soup with forks. Chloe attempts to eat her own soup with a spoon, but her brother snatches the spoon away and warns her to use a fork as well. Chloe soon realizes that everyone is eating with a fork because it’s the way that Mike, Chloe’s father, believes is best. Mike does not like to be challenged, and none of Chloe’s siblings want to risk antagonizing him. Chloe is left to navigate the absurd situation alone.

I made UTENSILS in response to the increasingly tribal political climate in America. It is an environment in which otherness is feared, truth is subjective, and blind deference trumps critical thought. The herd mentality that Mike fosters in UTENSILS is a direct result of his family enabling him: that is, they do not collectively stand in defiance of absurdity. This film demonstrates the need to recognize absurdities even when it is unpopular to do so, and I am eager to share this message with the world.