Girls Who Drink
NARRATIVE | 5 – 10 MIN. | ADDICTION, COLLEGE AGE
This film follows three young women as they endure a destructive relationship with alcohol, from the night before to the morning after.
But What Does It Mean?
EXPLORE THE FILM'S MEANING →
Even when we feel that we have a sense of a film’s meaning, there is often more to uncover.
Watch this video to better understand the film and why we selected it for the festival.
CLICK TO EXPLORE THE FILM'S THEMES
Fill a bottle with positive memories. Find an empty bottle and begin to refill the bottle with material that reminds you of a safe place, where you felt yourself and relaxed. If you feel relaxed at the beach you can fill it with sand, or salt water. Or do you feel yourself relax as soon as you walk in the woods? Then fill the bottle with pine needles. Once your bottle is filled, label it and set it on your shelf, as a reminder of that place.
Meet the Filmmaker
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Lily Rose Thomas is a director working in music videos, short films and branded content. Originally a photographer, Lily has always been drawn to creating a narrative, with dark self portraits and mysterious moments that give glimpses of a bigger story. After studying for a foundation at Chelsea School of Art, and a degree in English Literature at King’s College London, she pursued photography and has photographed for magazines including i-D and Wonderland, but after an exhibition of her work in 2014, a band saw the potential for her to move into video and since then the moving image has been her primary focus. Always narrative driven and often darkly comic, Lily is interested in dysfunctional, dark characters; videos she has created include the the story of a young couple kidnapping an unsuspecting shopkeeper, rival children duelling in suburbia, and a gold digging woman who murders her husband. Aside from music videos, she has created work for i-D magazine, including a short documentary about queer nightlife in London as part of their ‘Summer of Love’ series, as well as on content for brands.
WHY THEY MADE THE FILM
“I wanted to tell a story that I felt I hadn’t seen told – a non-judgemental, sympathetic look at female alcoholism. It needed to be something that I could relate to; as it can be easy to distance yourself from extreme portrayals of addiction. It was important that this film should feel sensitive and sympathetic; demonstrating that when people drink to excess it’s not necessarily a question of being careless and not knowing their limits, but instead the way that the need to escape removes that choice of knowing when to stop. As well as this, female alcoholics are rarely afforded the romantic, whisky and ink narrative that men are – they are often portrayed as fallen, tragic; so I wanted to tell a story that I hadn’t seen told.“
Your Turn: What did YOU think of this film?
5 Comments
Enter your comments here:
Pick a Film to Watch:
A New Man
Alzheimer’s
Arlo Alone
Black Swell
Bob & Dale
Burton Before and After
Carlotta’s Face
Cigarette Candy
Cycle
Elgin Park
Fear of the Unknown
Girls Who Drink
Holding
I Don’t Make The Rules
Irregulars
Jamaal: Through the Lens
Marguerite
One Day At A Time
Perfectly Normal
Pet Therapy
Sand Men
Share
Signs
Sister Hearts
Sundays
Surrender
Thank You for Taking Care of Me
The Motions
The Stained Club
The Things You Think I’m Thinking
Thomas Bennett
TIM (The Invisible Me)
Welcome to the Last Book Store
Why We Are All Addicts
Special thanks to our sponsors & partners...
UnLonely Film Fest 4
WATCH. DO. SHARE.
ABOUT THE UNLONELY PROJECT
The UnLonely Project broadens public awareness of the negative physical and mental health consequences of loneliness while also promoting creative arts-based approaches to reduce the burden. Click here for mental health resources.
Why do we enter into an abusive relationship with alcohol? A good friend would never leave us with lingering feelings of guilt, regret and shame yet we allow alcohol to give us a brief burst of connection and then destroy our sense of self worth. Why doesn’t the knowledge of the downside of alcohol give us the ability to turn away? We keep returning to the abusive friend.
Could relate; found I want to know more about the three young woman; and the why of their drinking habits
Thanks – yes alcoholism emphasises a loneliness which may already be there, and can lead to self isolation. I am a female recovering alcoholic and also an ex drug user. I recently had a stay in rehab and have been out and clean for three months. I’m now learning how to take care of myself more, and address my troubles when sober. Even in lockdown with the isolation it can bring, I’m feeling a bit better all the time. I hope the film speaks to people out there and gives them the courage to seek help and be more honest. Well done
this was a jarringly relatable film, thinking to my past and remembering moments where i was red faced and slurringly open with new best friends.
A sad reality that a lot of people do not like to feel the next day. Great film enjoyed it.