Comfort Film Presents: The Alley Cat (2015) and Faster! (2010) by Marie Ullrich

Faster!
2010; 11 min.

Jasper, a badass Chicago bike messenger, runs roughshod over others as she struggles to stay afloat.
Marie Ullrich’s award-winning short film Faster! made its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival and played the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival in the same week. It played competitive festivals internationally and has been featured at cycling events worldwide, such as a screening at the Cycle Messenger World Championships.

The Alley Cat
2015; 1 hr 7 min.

This road movie on a bicycle takes place over a single night. Jasper and her bike messenger friends compete in an alley cat race - an underground, alcohol-fueled bike race through Chicago’s deserted nighttime streets. Jenny Strubin stars as Jasper, the same character from Ullrich’s award-winning, festival favorite short Faster! in a completely new set of circumstances.

When the night takes a hard turn, Jasper sets out alone. Her ride becomes a spiritual journey as Jasper engages with eccentrics and loners, heading toward her mysterious destination and its emotional secret.

By taking place during one night, the film exists in a liminal space in which things are overturned and unresolved. This liminality is part of Jasper’s character; the mythological Messenger communicates between the gods, the mortals, and the underworld, occupying no space fully. The film occupies a dark space, yet it ends with palpable hope.

Marie Ullrich bio:

Marie Ullrich, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, studied film at Emerson College in Boston. She worked in the Art Department on nationally distributed films, nationally broadcast television series, webisodes, commercials, animation, and live events before going back to school and earning an MFA in Film Writing and Directing at Columbia College Chicago. She lives in Pilsen with her 20-year-old cat, Charlotte.

Media: Digital Projection

The program will be inside, mask are required.

Programmed for Comfort Station by Mathew Tapey.