Céline Roustan
It’s rush week and Scotty and her friend are pledges at a sorority. Tonight they have to make an impression at yet another hazing party, but just how far are they both willing to go to impress Hunter, the “big” they both covet? In Scotty’s Vag, writer/director Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz uses the canvas of the American college Greek system to paint a coming-of-age story tainted by complicated and nuanced power dynamics.
Fraternities and sororities have been depicted on screen in countless films and tv shows. From comedy to genre, millennials have grown up on films showing this very American experience, but in Scotty’s Vag the lens Martin-Berkowicz uses to capture these hazing rituals has an authenticity that makes her short an uncomfortable watch. When we asked Martin-Berkowicz what inspired her story, she confessed that this project is “a personal film, inspired by my own college experience in an all-girls society”. Adding that “looking back, I’m struck by how I was both terrified and enthralled by older girls, and by how I, too, was capable of peer pressuring younger girls when I was an upperclassman”. A duality that she cites as a driving force of the screenplay.
Allegra Leguizamo stars as the titular Scotty, a sorority pledges desperate to make a good impression.
Scotty’s Vag breaks the mold of similar narratives in that context. Scotty is not the innocent, inexperienced pledge we at first believe her to be and Martin-Berkowicz’s short seems intent on proving that girls can party just as hard, and dirty, as the boys do. Through the runtime of the film, we see Scotty coming into her own, taking ownership over her choices and her body. The film also captures the complex power dynamics between “littles” and “bigs” and the writer/director finds just the right balance to make it very much present and a key element into Scotty’s decision making, without it being the only one.
“I wanted the film to be gritty, feminine, and real”
Narratively, and visually, the film lives in a grey area which makes it feel raw, real, and genuinely captivating. The screenplay never takes sides, or casts one character against another, like we are used to seeing, and this approach feels refreshing and all the more engaging. “My collaborators and I wanted the film to be gritty, feminine, and real”, Martin-Berkowicz explains and DP Gemma Doll-Grossman and set designer Marina Pérez do great work in helping to capture this chaotic vibe. As the film is very much about Scotty’s emotional journey through that night, the edit – by Cecilia Delgado & Max Bowens – reflects that with a slower pace allowing us to grasp Scotty’s mindset and giving us the necessary time to reckon with her decisions.
Regulars on S/W might recognize Allegra Leguizamo in the titular role, as she starred in fellow S/W film Lockdown. Once more, her portrayal is remarkable, as she manages to convey her character’s emotional journey with so much authenticity and nuance, allowing us to see who Scotty is and who Scotty wants people, like Hunter, to think she is.
Scotty’s Vag had its World Premiere at the 2023 edition of SXSW, it went on to be selected at multiple festivals including Seattle and Atlanta, where it picked up the Best Narrative Short Award ahead of its online premiere here on S/W. Martin-Berkowicz is currently writing a feature that deals with similar themes as this short, which she hopes will be her feature directorial debut.