Slamdance 2022 Film Festival – That moment just before college graduation can be a confusing time.  Talk about scary. In Kit Zauhar‘s feature debut, Actual People, protagonist Riley, played by Zauhar, doesn’t have a clear plan. In fact, she’s a mess, careening from one crisis to another, some more self-inflicted than others. The result is a film that feels emotionally honest about how unnerving that point in one’s life can be, especially if everything isn’t so certain as the college finish line nears.

Actual People is a film with a lot of talking as a bunch of 20-somethings try to navigate their lives. This feature is very much in line with mumblecore movies from the early 2000s. For some, it will feel like not a whole lot happens here. There are some pacing issues, where parts of this feel like a slog. How many party scenes and conversations about everything from bubble tea to affirmative action are necessary? Yet, there’s something very real about Riley. She’s just trying to keep her head above water but struggles to finish off the semester and hence, walk across that graduation stage. She fails a paper in one class. She has a blow-up with her roommate, who wants her to move out. She wants to return to Philly because she feels like there’s nothing for her in NYC anymore. The problem is that she has no job or graduate school lined up awaiting her.

When Riley meets Leo (Scott Albrecht), also from Philly, she sees that as a bright spot at least. She spends a good chunk of the movie trying to make something work with him. The real conflict here is that Riley is simply stressed out. Zauhar, who also wrote the film, plays a burned-out college student well. There are so many scenes where Riley simply looks exhausted, be it from another impending paper deadline or from a late night of drinking, trying to maintain her adolescence and keep the future/adulthood at bay, even if that’s impossible. There are some intimate moments that work well, like a scene between Riley and her therapist, when you really feel for the protagonist because she just seems so lost and rudderless.

This isn’t going to be a film for everyone. But there’s something very human here about the portrayal of a young woman who fears what adulthood will bring and wants to cling to those college years for as long as she can. Having written, directed, and starred in this, Zauhar proves that she’s a triple threat. Actual People, despite its pacing issues, does have its strong and emotionally raw moments.

6 Out of 10