''The Exploding Girl'' is a 2009 American

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray, starring

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), '' Revo ...

and

Mark Rendall Mark Rendall (born October 21, 1988) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor whose roles include the lead in the 2004 film, '' Childstar'' and Mick in season 1 of the Canadian television drama series ''ReGenesis''. He played Bastian Bux i ...

. It premiered at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

in 2009 and was released theatrically in the United States on March 12, 2010.

Plot

Ivy is a college student suffering from juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, who has returned home to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

for spring break. While she stays at her mother's house, her childhood friend Al, also home from college, asks to crash on their couch as his parents have rented out his room. Over the course of the break, Ivy and Al spend most of their time together, strengthening their already deep bond, especially after Ivy's distant college boyfriend breaks up with her via telephone.

Cast

as Ivy *

as Al * Maryann Urbano as Mom * Franklin Pipp as Greg's voice

Production

''The Exploding Girl'' was shot in the

guerrilla filmmaking Guerrilla filmmaking refers to a form of independent filmmaking characterized by ultra-low micro budgets, skeleton crews, and limited props using whatever resources, locations and equipment is available. Often scenes are shot quickly in real loc ...

tradition on-location in New York City.

Awards

Zoe Kazan won Best Actress at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...

References

External links

* * * * * 2009 films American independent films 2009 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films 2009 independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-romantic-comedy-film-stub