How to Have Sex

As the three girls get dressed up and ready to take on the nightlife of this beach town, they make a connection with the boys in the neighbouring house. The next morning, the events of the previous night are a bit of a blur, but the fragments of memories of the night seem like something bad might have happened.

Drenched in glitter and the booming sounds of EDM music, Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut film is simultaneously a riotous good time of a party and an anxiety provoking drama about being young and still learning to trust your instincts. What starts out as a party movie similar to Project X or Spring Breakers turns into an impactful cautionary tale about consent and grey area sexual encounters. This film is the cinematic manifestation of that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know you’re supposed to be having a good time, but something is telling you to run away. When your gut is telling you that something is seriously wrong, but your brain is telling you to shut that out and go along with the crowd, lest you be left behind or forgotten. How to Have Sex brings an incredibly important message to young women about trusting your instincts that if something feels wrong, then something probably IS wrong.

Coming off of a successful run at TIFF, and winning the top prize in the Un Certain Regard category of the Cannes Film Festival, this vital film needs to be seen by all audiences. There are some films that feel as though they can genuinely make a difference in the world, and How to Have Sex might be one of them.