Alice is a recent college graduate without a plan. She dreams of becoming a writer but is suffering from writers block. Her family insists that she follow the path towards graduate school but she is thrown a loop when she unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s apartment…and the people that come with it.

Director’s Statement: Victoria DeMartin is a New York-based screenwriter and director with a BFA in Film production from the Film Conservatory at SUNY Purchase College. She has written and directed five short films which have screened at festivals nationwide, including one airing on PBS-KVCR. Victoria currently works in TV as a showrunner’s assistant and previously worked on series such as Billions (Showtime) and The Spy (Netflix). 

Knick-Knacks was Victoria’s senior thesis film. Production took place over a freezing cold week in January on location in Chinatown. The inspiration came from the random idea of a dream interpreting business where the clients start showing up out of the blue, demanding to have their dreams interpreted. What began simply as a comedic scene idea grew into a personal reflection on the daunting prospect of post-grad life and the pressure one feels from their family (and from themselves) to do something with their life. 

Each of Victoria’s films focus on the theme of goal-oriented women fighting against the outside pressures of society and inner conflict of self-doubt. This theme takes shape in different genres throughout Victoria’s work but aims to depict multifaceted women rather than one-dimensional “strong” women. Victoria aims to show the vulnerability, ambition, and humility of these characters to ultimately tell a heartfelt and uplifting story.

This year Victoria plans to release her latest short film Skindiving, completed in 2019. She recently directed another short film which wrapped post production this month and will be entering film festivals for the 2021-22 season. Beyond short films, Victoria is currently writing a feature film script which she hopes to direct as her first feature film.