Heart Shot: A one-of-a-kind teenage romance packed with adrenaline

Emerging queer filmmaker Marielle Woods lives for action. She worked as a stunt assistant in ‘Baby Driver’ and ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’, but has been longing for action movies that break the mold. Her crowdfunded indie short, ‘Spin’, was a step closer to this goal, starring a female action lead. With ‘Heartshot’ she accomplishes it and gives us the queer action/thriller we all have been craving for.

“I want to see more action where it’s not a white man in the lead, that’s inclusive of queer people, people of color, people with disabilities — we can all kick ass.” - Marielle Woods for Los Angeles Times

‘Heartshot’ is a short film directed by Marielle Woods, co-written by Woods and Lauren Ludwig. Out on Netflix on February 17, it is part of their Emerging Filmmaker Initiative. The program aims to give emerging filmmakers the budget and resources needed to develop and showcase their filmmaking talent. They’re given full creative control, which allows new narratives to emerge.

The movie opens with parallels between the lives of Sam and Nikki, the two protagonists. As Sam appears as a lovable, family-oriented senior student, Nikki already sparks curiosity in the first seconds of her appearance. The two of them meet at Sam’s house after her family has left for the weekend. As they discuss life plans and share cute moments of intimacies, we’re immersed in the warmth of their relationship. But the tenderness is cut short as the music dramatically changes for a repetition of stressful short breaths. Nikki’s past is catching her up, and this will not stay without consequences…

We certainly didn’t get enough of Nia Sondaya (Sam) and Elena Heuzé (Nikki) and the cliffhanger left us hungry for more. We hope to see those two talented emerging actresses in a longer adaptation, and in other productions as well. 15 min is not even near enough to what we deserve for this thrilling lesbian action-thriller, that we hope will develop into a TV show or a movie.