''Tender'' (stylized as ''tender'') is a 2020 debut short drama film written and directed by

Felicia Pride Felicia Pride is an American author, screenwriter, producer, and director. She is the author of six books, including the young adult novel ''Patterson Heights''. Pride has written for the television shows ''Queen Sugar'' and ''Grey's Anatomy''. He ...

. It follows two

generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

Black women (portrayed by Farelle Walker and Trishauna Clarke) who have to deal with the morning after a one-night stand. The film premiered at 2020 Outfest Fusion and was released online on May 4, 2020. ''Tender'' received the Lionsgate/STARZ Short Film Award at the

BlackStar Film Festival The BlackStar Film Festival is a Philadelphia film festival focused on films about and by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. It has been described as the "Black Sundance. The festival is named after Marcus Garvey's shipping ...

Plot

The film "explores the dynamic between two women who take a dive into a complex morning after a simple one-night-stand."

Cast

* Farelle Walker as Kiana * Trishauna Clarke as Lulu

Production

''Tender'' is

's directorial debut. She stated that she hoped to capture "the power of the bonds between Black women" and to depict Black joy and connection. Regina Hoyles was the producer and Ludovica Isidori was the cinematographer. The film was produced by Felix & Annie, Pride's production company. The company used Gofundme to fundraise for the film, and earned over $10,000 from their $5,000 goal. By September 2020, a feature film version of ''Tender'' was under development.

Release

''Tender'' premiered at 2020

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

Fusion. It also showed at the Seattle Black Film Festival, the

, and the 2020

American Black Film Festival The American Black Film Festival (originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival) is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film—works by Black members of the film industry. It is held to recognize achievements of film ...

. On May 4, 2020, the film was released online on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

and the release was featured on the Black diaspora film review website Shadow & Act.

Critical reception

In a review for ''

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

'', Tonja Renee Stidhum wrote, "It is a special salve to witness two Black women with total agency loving up on each other and providing adequate space for each other in a world that suffocates us." Shelli Nicole wrote for

Autostraddle Autostraddle is an independently owned online magazine and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women ( cis and trans), as well as non-binary people and trans people of all genders. The website is a "politically progressive queer femin ...

, "It’s a look at the morning after, one not filled with regret and a quick escape but instead, one that becomes infinitely more intimate than the physical aspect of the night before."

Awards

* 2020 – Lionsgate/STARZ Short Film Award,

* 2020 – Best Director, Seattle Black Film Festival

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=tt10896846
Official website, full movie streaming
2020 films 2020 short films African-American drama films LGBT-related drama films Lesbian-related films 2020 LGBT-related films African-American LGBT-related films 2020 drama films 2020 directorial debut films American drama short films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films