"Sorry, Baby" Trailer: Eva Victor’s Audacious Film Debut Tackles Trauma and Recovery with This A24 Dark Comedy, Co-Starring Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges
Eva Victor writes, directs and stars in this Sundance sensation about a woman navigating life after a sexual assault.
Sundance this year was, to put it plainly, uneventful. Usually, the world-renowned Park City festival serves as a barometer for what moviegoers can expect for the rest of the year, especially during awards season. There have been many years at Sundance where films debut and then embark on a year-long campaign before being released, becoming part of the general movie conversation in the process. But as the indie film market continues to shrink each year, and lower-budget independent films get lost in the shuffle, these debut films coming out of Sundance are finding it increasingly difficult to secure a place to be seen outside the festival circuit—let alone be shown in movie theaters before they’re relegated to the throwaway bins of a streaming platform. So, if you’re an indie filmmaker today, trying to get your movie out there for people to discover and enjoy, we feel for ya! In the words of DJay from the Sundance sensation Hustle & Flow, “It’s hard out here for a pimp, man.”
That said, Sundance this year wasn’t without its share of sensations. One film that emerged as one of the buzziest hits of the festival was Sorry, Baby. It’s a black comedy about a woman struggling to piece her life back together after experiencing a traumatic sexual assault. Given the subject matter, one might expect the film to be dour and morose, but according to the rave reviews it received at Sundance, the film is surprisingly funny at times and handles the sensitive topic of recovering from personal trauma with a remarkable level of levity.
The film also marks the audacious debut of rising talent, writer-director Eva Victor, who also stars in the lead role. Supposedly a semi-biographical story, Victor came up with the idea to write and direct the film herself after receiving encouragement from Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who serves as one of the producers.
Apparently, Jenkins had been a fan and follower of Victor’s Instagram account, where she regularly posted funny bits and comedy sketches. After a few exchanges and direct messages over Instagram, in which Jenkins expressed interest in any movie ideas Victor might have for his production company, Pastel, Sorry, Baby was born from those conversations. In fact, it wasn’t until Victor sequestered herself for two months in a cabin with only a cat for company that she was able to flesh out a full screenplay that dealt with all the emotional issues she was grappling with at the time.
Victor even goes so far as to credit Jenkins for believing she was a filmmaker before she saw herself as one. While talking to The Wrap at Sundance earlier this year, Victor discussed how she met Jenkins and how his words inspired her to direct.
“At the beginning, before I made the film or even wrote it, [Jenkins] said [to me], the videos you’re making online are directing ... you’re directing them even if you don’t know it,’ says a grateful Victor in The Wrap’s interview (watch it below).
Also starring Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges, with John Carroll Lynch, Sorry, Baby sees Victor as Agnes, a college professor who, three years after experiencing a life-changing assault, is finding it difficult to recover from the event. As she wrestles with her deep emotional scars, she finds much-needed support from her lifelong best friend (Ackie) and a potential new friend (Hedges), despite her failed attempts to push him away in an effort to protect herself.
Eva Victor was rewarded with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance this year for Sorry, Baby. The film has since been picked up by A24 Films.
Other than her social media presence, Victor is perhaps best known for co-starring in the Showtime series Billions, where she played Taylor Mason’s protégé, Rian, for three seasons from Season 5 to 7. But it seems that after Sorry, Baby, Victor’s future looks bright as she will likely continue to carve out a name for herself both in front of and behind the camera.
Sorry, Baby is coming to theaters this summer, opening on June 27th.
