Dir: Amanda Kramer
Cast: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney
91 minutes · 2025 · USA · Cert 15
Upon seeing a gorgeous chair in a showroom, Camille realizes that she truly envies the life of this perfect piece of furniture. If only she could be someone’s favourite thing. When she and the chair swap forms, Camille learns that she is better liked as an inanimate object than she was as a person: her mother finds her to be a better listener, and her best friends enjoy a newfound, friction-free rapport.
As the chair, Camille is unable to speak or move and winds up in the hands of Olivier, a minimalist bachelor who gradually becomes romantically fixated on his elegant new possession. Narrated by Melanie Griffith, this modern fable celebrates the messiness of female interiority with deadpan humour, surrealist flourishes, and interpretative dance numbers. An absurdist spin on the body-swap comedy, By Design is a bold new work from singular filmmaker Amanda Kramer.
Independent Visions is a regular film night championing modern independent North American filmmaking. Curated by Brighton based film distributors, Bulldog Films, each screening includes on-stage or zoom intros and Q and As with filmmakers destined to become the indie auteurs of the future!
