Love has a plan.
She has a better one.
One hopeless romantic. One supposed soulmate.
One very unexpected day in court.
Sophie is done waiting for love to find her. When she meets Mark at Pilates, she decides the universe has finally delivered, and that the universe could use a nudge.
Fifteen minutes of New York rom-com chaos, from the subway to a sterile midtown mediation room, featuring the original song "LOVE TODAY" by Ruby Rose.
Sophie lives on Manhattan's Upper East Side and is done waiting for love to find her. When she meets Mark at Pilates, she decides the universe has finally delivered, and that the universe could use a little help.
Armed with a coffee punch card lifted from Mark's wallet and a map app, Sophie starts arranging "chance" encounters across the city while her friends Jenny and Claire look on in mounting alarm. Her campaign of romantic initiative ends somewhere she never planned: a sterile midtown mediation room, facing Mark and his lawyer across a conference table.
As the lawyers trade legal definitions of "enthusiastic," Sophie has to reckon with the gap between fate and force, and decide whether some things are worth a push at all.
Love in the modern age is curated, awkward, and a little desperate, and Sophie is determined to prove that fate can be engineered. Desperately Seeking Commitment plays with the rom-com behaviors we're told to root for: grand gestures, "accidental" run-ins, and the mythology of "the one."
By pushing those tropes just a little too far, the film exposes how funny, familiar, and uncomfortable they can become. My approach was performance driven and grounded, letting timing, tension, and real New York energy carry the comedy, while using selective stylized moments to reflect Sophie's romantic imagination.
Ultimately, this is a story about learning that connection can't be forced, even when you really want it to be.
"This quirky romantic comedy follows Sophie, whose wild schemes to force destiny with a subway crush land her in mediation court. The film blends hilarious, playful twists with a compelling emotional impact as her fantasy crumbles into a reality about letting go. Highly engaging and delightful."
The handsome mediator who offers Sophie a potential romantic interest.
Lucas Seitz Miller · A.J. Jacoby · Harvey McLendon · Sheraine Randall · Kai Holmes · Avinash Mohan-Ram · Fritz Philogene II · Baani Kaur Sandhu · Hoffmann West · Michael Olderr · Suheyla Noyan · Tristan Ashwal · Nelly Gugala · Vincenzo Carroll
SAG-AFTRA · Gotham Sound & Communications, Inc. · Hand Held Films, Inc. · Walton Hauling, New York · In memory of Brian Sullivan
Full credits on IMDb.
Finise Avery is a New York based filmmaker, writer, and producer celebrated for character driven storytelling and a bold, inclusive vision. A member of the DGA and SAG-AFTRA, she has worked across major studio productions and earned more than 40 international awards for her directorial debut Living With Grandma.
Her passion for witty, emotionally resonant comedies fuels Desperately Seeking Commitment, a dance infused rom-com that reimagines the genre with vibrant New York energy and a fresh female perspective. She is the founder of Electric Dreams Productions and Reel Solidarity, and served as a DGA Focus on Women representative.
Shot on the Sony Venice, the film blends composed Steadicam work with motivated camera movement, creating a clean but kinetic visual language that supports performance driven comedy.
Warm ambers and subtle magenta undertones ground the romantic world while maintaining a polished, contemporary New York aesthetic.
Director of Photography: Connor Lawson
The press kit is below. Hi-res poster, stills, festival laurels and a private screener are available on request. We're happy to arrange interviews with the director and cast.
Format: short film, fiction · 15 min · 2K DCP & HD (1920×1080) · USA / English · Filmed in New York City and New Jersey · 2026
