Katarina Zhu Debuts ‘Bunnylovr’ at Sundance, Co-Stars Rachel Sennott in Intimate Drama
Name: Katarina Zhu
Sundance project: Zhu wrote, directed, and stars in “Bunnylovr,” an intimate drama costarring her former NYU classmate and close friend Rachel Sennott.
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Notable past credits: Zhu earned her BFA in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2018.
”The news couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment,” says Zhu of finding out that “Bunnylovr,” her first feature film, would be premiering at Sundance in the U.S. dramatic competition. “It was the day before we were locking picture,” she adds. “And so it really helped push us over the finish line.”
Zhu, who wrote the first draft of the film in 2023, traces her inspiration for the script back to the start of COVID-19 in 2020, when she was navigating the aftermath of a “protracted” breakup.
“I was interested in exploring that space you’re in when you’re really heartbroken and you’re so much more willing to do things that you might not normally do,” she says. “Because you feel so vulnerable, and you’re seeking validation and seeking to fill a void. And so you might, you know, accept a bunny from a stranger online. And from there it sort of became this more holistic exploration of a young woman and her relationship with the men in her life, and her trying to find a sense of direction and purpose and claim agency for herself.”
In the film, Zhu stars as a cam girl who receives an unusual gift from an online client: a white rabbit. Offline, the girl reconnects with her dying father. Sennott, who helped produce the film, stars as the girl’s artist best friend.
“ In the back of my mind, I probably knew that I was going to act in [the film], but I sort of tricked myself into thinking that I didn’t write it [with the intention] that I would be the one doing these things,” Zhu says. “Because if I had, I maybe would have been a little bit more conservative or less likely to put things in there that felt risky, less prone to taking risks in the script, knowing that I would be the one having to do all of these things.”
The multihyphenate creative is currently auditioning for projects, while also continuing to work on a pilot for a series and a second feature film. ”Nothing super concrete yet, but I’m outlining for both of those ideas,” she says.
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