Synopsis
Sara is an ambitious, beautiful twenty-something working her way through law school. Jealous Brooke, who comes from a wealthy, privileged background, decides to publicly humiliate Sara at the bar where Sara works. Watching from the bar is Alex, gorgeous and even more privileged even than Brooke. Devastated, Sara turns to Alex. As the two girls become closer, a sexual tension develops between them. As they discuss what to do about Brooke, Alex tells Sara about her own stepmother, a woman she despises. Alex casually suggests to Sara that they should make a murder pact.

Program Note
Jamie BABBIT, whose film Itty Bitty Titty Committee was previously screened at the 10th IWFFIS, presents us with an interesting take on queer cinema in her new film, Breaking the Girls , that challenges mainstream cinema genres. Lately, various queer films have adopted the strategy of actively monopolizing mainstream cinema genres and narrative styles in order to expand their audiences. In this vein, Breaking the Girls creates a notable point of negotiation and resistance by combining the lesbian romance and thriller genres.
Having monopolized the icons of dangerous women, such as the femme fatale along with a serial killer(in this case, a lesbian), this film offers the pleasure of viewing cinema from feministic perspectives by foregrounding women’s desire for and seduction of each other. The women’s relationships with one another, fraught with jealousy and betrayal, change into strong solidarity toward the end of the film. The male characters in the film are merely woven into the network of women’s relationships, and eventually fade away, unable to find their places in the relationships between mothers and daughters, sisters, and lesbian lovers. Jamie BABBIT has achieved a remarkable women’s thriller genre though her use of the multiple plot structure and her treatment of conspiracies and strategies among women. [HONG So-in]