Premiere Run! BUFF 2024 Award Winner!

* Some scenes have a strobing effect that may affect photosensitive viewers

In a fantasy world paralleling our own, two lost souls find a fleeting connection amid a landscape of toxic self-care. The majority of people inhabiting this realm exist in a detached emotional state, and plan their lives virtually through an app called LifeZapp. On the fringes of this society, human hearts are glowing objects that people can rip from their bodies and exchange with one another.

The story follows Anabel (Maguire), a passionate artist working a dull job at a virtual insurance company. Her high-strung emotional attachment can be a bit extra for the others in her sphere who bury their own feelings. We also find George (Haq), an impassive young man who is content living a bland existence with his overprotective mother Mona (Sood). When Anabel meets George in a park one day, she is struck by his peculiar point-of-view. When she offers him her heart, George doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, but runs off with Anabel’s luminous organ anyway. This act sets them both on a course to confront unresolved issues stemming from generational trauma. 

With Love and a Major Organ is based on a play by screenwriter Lederer. Together with director Albright, they orchestrate an alternate universe fashioned with surreal flourishes that distinguishes their collaboration from the glut of sci-fi adjacent satires. The narrative is less about two weirdos falling in love and more about healing from the effects of interpersonal relationships forged in dysfunction, fear, and insecurity. Cinematographer Leonardo Harim’s widescreen compositions evoke isolation, capturing a chasm of loneliness among people occupying the same space. The film’s thrifty world-building capitalizes on a minimal aesthetic while cultivating rich commentary on our rapidly eroding social fabric. At the center of it all is Anabel and George, whose longings for connection begin with a painfully honest look inward.

“Optimistic, realistic, a whimsical manifestation of the emotional pains we all suffer, With Love and a Major Organ is one from the heart, whatever shape yours takes.” – J. Hurtado, Screen Anarchy

Closed Captions available for this feature.