Sam’s day spirals out of control in a series of confrontations with her boss, family, friends and boyfriend – who bombard her with questions about her future that she’s not prepared to answer.

There’s something majestic, celestial, and also totally normal about Avital Siegel’s depiction of a 22 year old’s search for selfhood. The film is about Sam, a former history major who has dropped out of college for reasons she can’t explain. On her 22nd birthday, she has one big wish: to feel a part of history by seeing the Patek Comet, which comes only once every 150 years. But her day spirals out of control in a series of confrontations with her boss, family, friends and boyfriend – who bombard her with questions about her future that she’s not prepared to answer.

I’ve always been interested in the concept of time and how we understand it at different points in our life. In “Twentysomething”, I wanted to explore time as an antagonist. We are always racing against the clock, feeling like we are somehow falling behind or are not yet where we are meant to be. This is specifically true in your twenties and even more pertinent as a woman in your twenties.

While I was writing the film, everyone around me felt lost, in particular, my female friends. There was something striking about how almost all the young women around me not only felt untethered but also felt the need to apologize for their lack of clarity. They couldn’t accept that growing pains are just a natural part of the process and many felt like everything stemmed from some huge personal flaw.

I knew I was onto something and wanted to tell a story about a young woman grasping for answers as she desperately craves to be understood. I wanted to tell the story of my friends who were trying to figure it out and wanted to show that a female character doesn’t always have to be “likable” in her pursuit of selfhood.

Without any grandiose moment, the film flows through it’s half hour pitch in a smooth fashion. For a student film, all expectations are passed with production values and tedious attention to detail (particularly in character development). The cast (lead by Juliette Monaco) deliver an indie-wonder performance to really carry the characters Avital wrote for them.