In February I attended the premiere for a punk rock musical short, ‘Lexical Gap.’ The film was screened at one of my favorite Los Angeles spots, Laser Kitten Studio. ‘Lexical Gap’ and Laser Kitten are a match made in heaven. Laser Kitten founder, Marisa Ravel and Business Manager, Lindsay Glass are two of my favorite ladies. Those two inspire me more and more every day & there will be more about Laser Kitten in the future, but back to this truly impressive short film that is smashing patriarchy one punk rock ballad at a time.
’Lexical Gap’ was written & directed by Yoko Okumura, produced by Laura Noxon & So Yun Um, and featuring the main cast of badass ladies Michelle Rose, Ihui Wu, Riiottt & Mabel Garcia. The film is about redefining virginity and breaking down the fallacies of purity. The definition of Lexical Gap is a word or phrase that doesn’t exist. In this instance, there is no word for someone who is no longer a virgin. Yoko Okumura spoke to me about how backward ideologies of sanctity & purity can be so damaging to girls. Her film stars Michelle Rose (of Miss Jupiter) as ‘Lex’. Through music, Lex reflects back on her confusing and distressing adolescent years that were filled with the fear of losing her virginity.
The film is beautifully shot and a powerful feminist statement against old taboos about sex. I would have died for this film as a teen! The film completely captures the turmoil and frustration of being an adolescent in a society that has such skewed views on sex and sexuality. The music is beyond incredible. Ihui Wu (of Polar Tropica) who also plays ‘Peach’ wrote the main song, “Never Lost at All”.
When Lex sings the song during the film’s climax it gave me goosebumps. ‘Lexical Gap’ is an energetic fearless anthem for girls and really anyone ready to rebel against outmoded & detrimental ideas about purity. It’s an ode to hope and realizing our own confidence and worth.
About:
- LEXICAL GAP is a wild lady-punk musical short film that dives into Lex’s origin and tells the story of a mistake she once made as a teenager based on her once warped view of virginity. A now confident artist on a mission looks back at the painful confusion of female adolescence in order to deliver a rallying battle cry of hope and wholeness to woman-kind. Purity is a myth!
Crew:
- YOKO OKUMURA / Writer & Director A lime-haired weirdo with an unparalleled love of Gutedama and the 90s. She recently directed a web-series for Lifetime/A&E, and created a doc series about unique women called FACETS. She has a BFA from CalArts and MFA in directing from AFI. Her thesis KIMI KABUKI won a DGA award, and she’s booked to direct a feature next year.
- LAURA NOXON / Producer When not chasing unaccompanied penguins around a zoo, Laura spends her time script coordinating for networks like Netflix, HBO, and Bravo. She has produced short films and music videos and has two features in development at Suzu Productions. She has a BA in Television from Ryerson, and an MFA from AFI in producing.
- SO YUN UM / Associate Producer A ride or die kinda chick who runs So’s Reel Thoughts, which highlights international, independent, and genre films. She writes a bi-weekly column called Badass Femmes for Crome Yellow and is the creator of the #GirlTalkSeries. She programs for LA Festivals and is part of the Women Film Critics Circle.
