New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

Bowling 4 Eva plays at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival on June 2!


By Vanessa Tirok

originally published: 05/24/2023




Situated in the wake of online chat rooms and JNCO jean culture of the early 2000s, Bowling 4 Eva introduces the audience to protagonist Christina— a depressed teen who passes the time under suicide watch by bowling.  The 14-minute dark comedy, created by Aelfie Oudghiri, takes the surreal art of bowling alley animations and integrates it with the equally surreal, lonely world of a misunderstood adolescent.

After a failed suicide attempt, Christina is kicked out of boarding school and sent back to her lavish home in Queens where she is to be put under “the watch.” Though money is definitely of no object to Christina’s family, the household lacks the warmth and love that Christina needs -- her mother’s main concern is getting Christina to ingest her dozens of psych meds, and her brother couldn’t care less about her. To fill the void, she resorts to chatting with a pedophile AOL-style and meets up with him in real life at her local bowling alley. When her grandfather/bowling coach catches them together, her response is, “He’s a pedophile I met online. We’re both lonely.” Just as she says this the pedophile runs away and Christina grins at her grandfather emptily, followed by the frenzied crescendo of digital arcade music and flashy bowling animations on the alley screens. It’s partially comedic but also speaks volumes about the onset of loneliness in our increasingly tech-fueled world, as well as its effect on the generations born into it. Christina is not just suffering from teenage-rich-kid ennui but from the isolation, misunderstanding, and guilt from her mental illness which is only amplified by the digital noise. 

In an attempt to further quell her symptoms, Christina is prescribed the fictional Tranquilia, a “loneliness inhibitor.” The overuse of medication in this film felt much like a point toward our modern-day inclination to overprescribe for things that could be treated by means of social support, and one can’t help but feel for the young Christina who lacks in this department. But of course, her loneliness is not completely external--- after all, she does have her one baggy-jeaned friend, and her sweet grandfather keeps her company too--- but her loneliness is internally held and it eats away at her. It comes to her in her sleep in the form of a talking bowling ball, who tells her she’s a burden to her family and that she sucks. As the effects of Tranquilia take over, she turns into a 3D character, enters a bowling alley animation realm, and gets berated by the talking bowling ball; the one thing she found solace in crushes her soul completely. It is tragic indeed, but it’s hard not to be impressed by the film’s (accurate) take on absurd bowling alley animations. Like why are the bowling pins having a pillow fight? Why must the bowling ball have insanely ripped arms?

Another thing this movie does right is its attention to sensory details. For instance, the sweaty hands, heavy breathing, and smacking lips of the pedophile’s character at the beginning of the film are enough to make your skin crawl. The color palette of the film was also a clever choice; reds, greens, and blues permeate Bowling 4 Eva’s digitally-saturated atmosphere. As a whole, the film blends effective sound design, color design, animation, visual effects, and narrative to put us completely in the head of the young main character. Though the internet has advanced exponentially since Christina’s time, the problems that adolescents deal with today are very much the same, and arguably to a worse degree with the effects of social media. As loneliness becomes the increasingly reported norm in the modern day, the dark themes of Bowling 4 Eva carry much more gravity.

Bowling 4 Eva screens at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival on Friday, June 2 as part of Shorts Program #1. The film will be Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here. Bowling 4 Eva Director Aelfie Oudghiri will be at this screening along with a few of the other filmmakers to do a Q+A session with the audience after the show.

 




Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

New

New Jersey Symphony will present "How to Train Your Dragon" in Concert this summer

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Symphony presents How to Train Your Dragon in Concert this summer with Lawrence Loh conducting. A winner with audiences and critics alike, the film by DreamWorks is a captivating and original story that combines humor, fire-breathing action, and epic adventure!



Count

Count Basie Center for the Arts presents An Evening With Francis Ford Coppola and screening of "Megalopolis"

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders) is bringing his monumental 2024 film, Megalopolis, to select cities across the country. The tour kicks off at the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 7:00pm.



The

The ShowRoom presents ENCORE: Rock Cinema Returns! A Summer Series of Legendary Sound and Vision

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The ShowRoom Cinema is turning up the volume this summer with ENCORE: Rock Cinema Returns!, a series of must-see music films that combine incredible sound with captivating visuals. Screenings include The Who's Tommy; Pink Floyd: The Wall; Ladies & Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains; and Streets of Fire.



The

The Williams Center to Screen "Wayward Kin" by David Joseph Volino

(RUTHERFORD, NJ) -- After a four-year-long production process, filmmaker and New Jersey native, David Joseph Volino, is sharing the full-length feature, Wayward Kin, with local audiences. See the film for one night only at The Williams Center in Rutherford on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The screening begins at 7:00pm with the cast and crew in attendance.



2025

2025 New Jersey International Film Festival Filmmaker Interview with The Sandy Mack Experience Director Sarah Ann McCuiston

Al Nigrin, Executive Director & Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, sits down with Sarah Ann McCuiston, Director, Writer & Producer of The Sandy Mack Experience and her father & subject of the film, Sandy Mack, for a filmmaker interview at EBTV.



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


How

How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: film


 

How

How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Moana 2

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Moana 2

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 @ 10:30am
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: The Wild Robot

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info