By MICHAEL GINGOLD
It’s the first feature by 21-year-old Canadian writer/director Avalon Fast.
HONEYCOMB will have its world premiere virtually on January 27, as part of the Slamdance Film Festival. Following several acclaimed and award-winning shorts, Fast shot HONEYCOMB during summer 2019 on Cortes Island, British Columbia with a cast and crew of peers and friends; the leads are Rowan Wales, Sophie Bawks-Smith, Jillian Frank, Destini Stewart and Mari Geraghty. The synopsis: “Five small-town girls abandon their mundane lives and move into an abandoned cabin. Growing increasingly isolated, their world becomes filled with imagined rituals and rules but the events of one summer night threaten to abruptly end their age of innocence forever.”
“From its first moments, it’s evident that there is something special about HONEYCOMB,” says Slamdance Narrative Features Co-Captain K.J. Relth-Miller. “Throughout its strange, unfolding tale, Avalon Fast’s feature debut continuously surprises with her bold and intriguing choices, especially when it comes to her dialogue. With nods toward Golding’s LORD OF THE FLIES and Ann M. Martin’s THE BABYSITTER’S CLUB, HONEYCOMB’s classic references mesh beautifully with its fresh, updated take on female friendship and the ominous end of innocence. A lo-fi achievement that perfectly encapsulates the Slamdance spirit.”