To afford a small 2BR Brooklyn apartment, a fiercely artistic woman reluctantly lives with one seemingly harmless - but secretly unhinged - roommate after another. Each bizarre, boundary-pushing experience challenges her expectations, testing her patience, her morals, and her understanding of human behavior. As she navigates these unpredictable cohabitations, she confronts the thin line between eccentricity and madness, forcing her to question not only her own norms but the complexities of the human psyche.
Technical details
Narrative Feature - Austria, United States - One hour 58 minutes - English (with subtitles)
Cast and Credits
Director - Maria Petschnig
Writer - Maria Petschnig
Writer - Thomas Brooks
Producer - Maria Petschnig
Key Cast
Charlotte Aubin - "Marie"
Ari Brand - "Rafer"
Adam Ratcliffe - "Brad"
Erica Sarda - "Niki"
Jordam Dallam - "Jay"
Julie Chapin - "Paulis"
Mark Bracich - "Kevin"
LVFF 2026 Award Nominations
Best Actress - Charlotte Aubin
Best Film by a Female Director - Maria Petschnig
Best Narrative Feature
Screening Details:
girls in film. April 26th 2026. 12pm-8:30pm. Venue to be announced.
Director biography
- Maria Petschnig
Maria Petschnig is an Austrian born NYC based filmmaker. "Beautiful and Neat Room" is inspired by her own experiences of cohabitating with other people, having shared her living space with more than 60 roommates over the course of 22 years. She has told The New York Times that sharing her apartment was “a way to survive as an artist in New York City”.
Petschnig has made twenty-plus experimental films and a feature documentary, Uncomfortably Uncomfortable, which earned acclaim at the 2021 Duisburger Film Woche, where it won the ARTE documentary award. “Her strange films suggest she’s the art world’s Franz Kafka.” - New York magazine