“Unvarnished, Emotionally Precise”: Lauren Loesberg’s Year One

In her confident and deeply personal debut, writer-director Lauren Loesberg reclaims the myth of the “best years of your life” and carefully dismantles it. Year One isn’t just a coming-of-age drama—it’s a confrontation with the quiet, internal chaos that many young adults experience during their first year of college, but few feel allowed to name.

The story centers on Ruby (Elizabeth Yu), a high-achieving freshman whose tightly wound self-image begins to fray amid the emotional and social turbulence of campus life. Her unraveling takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of Selene (Emma Raimi), a glamorous and increasingly dominant alter ego who emerges as both a fantasy and a threat. What begins as a psychological drama gradually slips into surrealism, subtly blurring the line between self-discovery and self-erasure.

Loesberg draws on her own experience to ground the film in a sense of lived-in emotional truth. There’s no sheen of nostalgia or irony here. Instead, Year One takes college as it really is for many: isolating, overwhelming, and often not what it promised to be. The film resists the genre’s usual tropes—there’s no quirky dorm mate or magical academic epiphany—offering instead a narrative shaped by mental health realities, emotional fragility, and the quiet violence of internalized pressure.

The film’s performances are a major asset. Elizabeth Yu gives Ruby an aching vulnerability that never feels performative; her downward spiral is rendered with restraint and specificity. Emma Raimi, as the seductive double Selene, brings a striking mix of charisma and menace. Their chemistry walks a delicate line—at once intimate, competitive, and unsettlingly intertwined.

Visually, the film benefits from Loesberg’s clear directorial eye. Shot on location at Northwestern University, the campus becomes more than a backdrop; it is a silent character, imposing and impersonal. The cinematography is intimate yet composed, using stillness and shadow to convey Ruby’s growing sense of dislocation. Loesberg’s directing is minimal but precise, allowing the emotional beats to land without manipulation.

Beneath the drama, there is a subtle current of commentary—about identity, performance, and the constructed nature of the college experience. Loesberg doesn’t overstate the metaphorical dimension of Selene’s presence, but allows it to haunt the film in quiet, meaningful ways.

Premiering at the Geena Davis–founded Bentonville Film Festival and earning recognition on IndieWire’s Sundance wish list, Year One is already establishing itself as a festival standout. It also carries the ReFrame Stamp, acknowledging its achievement in gender-balanced storytelling both on and off screen—fitting for a film so committed to authenticity.

Year One is a rare college-set film that tells the truth about that time of life—unvarnished, emotionally precise, and quietly daring. It is both intellectually sharp and emotionally grounded—a necessary provocation in uncertain times.

Screening on July 12 at the Somerville International Film Festival: https://www.somervillefilmfestival.com