Broken Gardenias

Director: Kai Alexander
Cast: Alma S. Grey, A. Jack Morocco
USA, 2014, 88’, color, BluRay
English with Turkish subtitles 

Director Kai Alexander adopts an entertaining approach towards road film, a popular subgenre of American cinema, with his first feature film. The film features Alma S. Grey, who is both the scriptwriter and the protagonist of the film, as Jenni, a young woman who has lived all her life with the hope that she can run into her father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a little child, again someday and who has been barred from adult life upon being ostracized continuously by those around her and getting more and more introverted. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt Jenni meets Sam, who is her exact opposite: extroverted, rebellious, furious… This strange couple sets out on a trip to Los Angeles to find Jenni’s father, and the two discover themselves during the trip which happens to be full of surprises. “Broken Gardenias” has proven to be a black comedy that never forgets about humor even when it touches upon the biggest traumas and that has won a great deal of recognition at queer festivals throughout the year.