Céline Roustan

Centered on a tight friendship between two actors/collaborators and how it hits a rough patch when one is presented with the opportunity to move to LA for a mainstream TV pilot, S/W alum Paavo Hanninen (I Think I’m Dying) returns to our site with his brand new short film Ghost Girl. Similarly to his previous work, this latest narrative is built around a conversation between two characters and how the prospect of this career changing role will prompt both to be brutally honest with one another. The question is: Can their friendship survive?

The situation that Hanninen and co-writer Lauren Cargo crafts is deceptively complex, working to shake up the relationship between the film’s two protagonists and disrupts the status-quo of their friendship. The dynamic between the pair is the canvas for a confrontation between ideals, which ultimately feel much more universal than initially perceived. “As an artist, the struggle to balance one’s personal integrity and ambition with the realities of making a living and getting ahead in this world is a universal reality”, Hanninen shared with us. On the surface, Ghost Girl presents a fascinating inner dilemma, but the director and his writing partner add another layer to the story by introducing a financial element to the conversation.  From there, Cargo and Hanninen flesh out and dramatize the conflict between these two friends, as they are forced to address their issues when the opportunity to audition for Ghost Girl arises.

Jamie Neumann and Sepideh Moafi portray a complex relationship in Ghost Girl

It sounds like a simple storyline, but I can’t emphasize enough just how refreshing it is to see a narrative focused on two women, which only deals with their goals, aspirations, choices and identities and prompts real, multidimensional, character development. Not only are Ghost Girl’s lead characters compelling and getting to know them and their motivations is engaging, their dynamic is also captivating. Especially as two women who collaborate and have a personal relationship, what arises from this potential change is fascinating and adds more nuance to their bond. All of their reactions are triggered by things they had kept quiet in the past, so you really feel the history of the relationship as this situation forces them to lay it all on the table. I especially liked the open ending, the lack of clear resolution really adds authenticity to the narrative.            

Shot on 16mm, the film instantly has an intriguing vibe. The lighting and color palette not only give the film a strong visual flair, it also invites us into the bubble of their friendship and how complicated it is in that moment. The visuals choices also work expertly in complementing the performance sequences in Ghost Girl, which again work to feed into the backstory of the characters. As it is often the case when shooting on film though, there is an element of uncertainty involved and the success of the short relies on the director’s choices and the performances. As Hanninen explains:

For Ghost Girl Hanninen reunites with I Think I’m Dying’s Jamie Neumann and with Sepideh Moafi (who starred alongside Neumann in HBO series The Deuce) as her on screen partner, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing these roles. The chemistry between the pair is magnetic and with very little said we feel the depth of their friendship and how it slowly begins to display its vulnerabilities. Their subtle performances capture the shifting power dynamic as they both finally speak out and confess what they have been holding on to, as a viewer, you just can’t look away. 

Ghost Girl hit the festival circuit and was selected at the New Orleans Film Festival, ahead of its online debut on S/W. As big fans of his work, it’s exciting to hear that Hanninen is already working on several new projects: Remote View, a narrative feature currently in pre-production and From Way Downtown, a documentary feature in post-production.