LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES

First-time feature director Emma-Kate Croghan carves a joyous tale of love and the pursuit of happiness for her cast of five Australian collegiates in LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES. Over the course of one riotous day, the lives of the alternately lovesick, love-fearing, love-obsessed and love-naive characters collide as they tackle seemingly life-shattering predicaments: roommate, wardrobe, relationship, and degree-seeking crisis. Mia, a cold but charismatic film student, is in the midst of scouting a third roommate, switching majors, and feigning disinterest toward her doting girlfriend Danni. Mia's roommate, Alice, a dizzy intellectual four years late in delivering her dissertation, “Doris Day as a Feminist Warrior,” is looking for love in all the wrong places – namely in Ari, a leather-clad, existentialist gigolo. Michael, a decidedly unhip med student, is in hot pursuit of new lodging , love, and, by necessity, a new look. Gradually the needs and desires of these fabulous five unravel with deliriously funny and endearing romantic repercussions. Harkening back to the screwball comedies of the 1940s, LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES is blessed with incisive, invigorating dialogue and spirited performances by its infectious cast. – Rebecca Yeldham, Sundance Film Festival