Faculty of Arts & Science

Creative Writing

Katherine Cao

True Romance + I Wish I Was A Dog Joint Screening

A joint screening of two of my short films "True Romance" and "I Wish I Was A Dog." Two surrealist comedy films following love and belonging.

“My message in creating True Romance is to depict the experience of a hopeless romantic in a world that has seemingly forgotten about love. In the real world, many people aren't interested in actual love or romance, and only want to have a surface-level relationship. This leads to a very unsatisfying love life for young romantics. At the same time, there's societal pressure to begin dating at a young age, and that's just not necessary when most young relationships aren't taken seriously and often end badly. It makes a lot of young people feel as if it's harder to be loved when being alone is completely fine and people should take time to find the right one rather than date for the sake of it. True Romance is a satire on real-life relationships as well as the formulas of many romantic comedy movies.I Wish I Was A Dog is a surrealist comedy film intended to depict the struggle of connecting with people you admire through comparison to a bizarre but heartfelt scenario. The heart of the story lies in the simplicity of love offered to a pet without expecting much in return, yet being a very precarious bond where a lengthy relationship is not always promised. The protagonist feels like a dog because she struggles to meet the very human requirements of getting in with the club and envies the immediate effortless attention people reward to animals. At the same time she is already like a dog due to not having much in common with the club members and being unable to relate to their routine and abilities, deeming her an outcast or an extra in their family-like dynamic that can only help them with simple tasks.”