Congratulations Debby (2018)

[wilder]

A melodrama chronicling seven increasingly troublesome days in the life of a woman attempting to share important news with friends and family. Congratulations Debby is a black-and-white, shape-shifting mystery in the vein of Todd Solondz or Ulrich Seidl.

Debby, already a proud mother of three, is overjoyed to learn that she is pregnant once again. Thrilled with the bright possibilities of the future, she is determined to share her good news with friends, family, and acquaintances. Yet despite the magnitude of her announcement, nobody in town seems to be quite as excited as Debby. To make matters worse, her children are too busy to even return her phone calls. The further Debby pushes to surprise her loved ones with the news, the faster her world hurtles in a direction she never imagined. A warped, uncanny melodrama which plunges into the depths of its protagonist's interiors, CONGRATULATIONS DEBBY is both a shape-shifting mystery film as well as an exercise in formal distortion.

Directed by Roger Hayn
Written by Roger Hayn & Theo Noble
Available to watch for free on memory.is

Really, really great debut, with a commanding lead performance by Jennifer Dorr White. It's always exciting to come across a new filmmaking voice.

that kind of singular flashbang we're lucky to get maybe every few years in indie film, the kind of thing you hope paves the way for a bright, bold body of work.

100% pure emotional terrorism.