About this submission

Sam returns to New York after eight years away, confronting shifting bonds with two Leo women who shaped her: her mother, Mayra, an Ecuadorian immigrant who assimilated young and now grapples with aging, autonomy, and her daughter’s different freedoms; and Emily, her lifelong best friend reclaiming agency amid trauma amidst conservative surroundings. Sam documents their reunions over four years, capturing heartbreak, desire, and taboo conversations. PLEASURE SEEKERS is a raw, joyful portrait of intergenerational healing, autonomy, and the courage to define pleasure through friendship, family, and self-discovery.

Samantha Berlanga

Creator

Samantha Berlanga is a Puerto Rican–Ecuadorian American writer, director, and cinematographer from Queens, New York. She is currently based in San Francisco, where she is a second-year SFFILM Artist in Residence and youth mentor. Through the residency, she is developing her debut feature documentary, Pleasure Seekers, an intergenerational portrait of women reclaiming pleasure, agency, and connection in defiance of cultural repression. more...