Hollyshorts 2026: Interview with Louisa Connolly-Burnham on The Intimacy Coordinator

We are kicking off our 2026 Hollyshorts coverage with a bang as Pedro reviews the provocative and thrilling The Intimacy Coordinator. The word is in, The Intimacy Coordinator is brilliant and deliciously engaging.

Pedro also sits down with director/actress Louisa Connolly-Burnham as they discuss the tonal transition from Sister Wives to The Intimacy Coordinators, how the visuals were shot, sexuality in film and Intimacy Coordinators as a profession. Head to Spotify or listen below for the full interview!

The Intimacy Coordinator, dir. Louisa Connolly-Burnham

Two years ago, the actor-director-writer Louisa Connolly-Burnham made a splash with Sister Wives, a short film with Mia McKenna Bruce (How to Have Sex). It tells the story of two women married to the same husband in a polygamous relationship who fall in love. Despite the development of that short into a feature film, Connolly-Burnham presents a new one, The Intimacy Coordinator. Kate (the director-writer herself) works as an intimacy coordinator on film sets. She is responsible for assuring the actors' safety during the filming of intimate scenes. Hence, she talks to them, rehearses movements, and ensures that the set is as minimal with crew as possible for the actors' comfort. Yet, she holds a secret: Kate is a sex addict. 

Louisa Connolly-Burnham crafts a film about a central contradiction: a hidden persona that might affect someone's safety. In the first scene, through intelligent framing, we observe Kate's pleasure in watching the sexual scene through the monitor. Hence, from that camera movement shifting from a medium shot to a close-up, the moans inform us of the stimulation that arouses the addict within that professional. There is a fundamental construction in the character that assigns plenty of the dramatic background to it. In a phone call with her mother, Kate attempts to confess her desires and ask for help, but the parent's response is abrupt, and the phone suddenly hangs up to answer the door. At the same moment, during the scenes of her attending therapy group sessions, the cut to the next frame denounces her sins: hooking up with a fellow dependent. 

Fascinatingly, the director's filmography has been built around dichotomy and dilemmas, especially surrounding female sexuality. In Sister Wives, the possibility of accepting the love from another woman and leaving behind the patriarchy is explored. In this new film, the director uses the popular notion of the ill-sided, utter sexuality of a woman and transforms it into a genre film. As the obsession for Max (Kieron Moore) increases, so does the thirst for pleasure, and Kate moves closer and closer to the collapse. Hence, the filmmaker plays with the morality attached to the vice, especially as it relates to the woman, to craft a deliciously engaging twist that culminates in a brutal final scene. Likewise, the framing after the final action indicates a talented visual storyteller in Connolly-Burnham, centering her face between the object and a plunge that blurs the background. Therefore, she creates a unique piece of thought, reminiscent of the European genre performances from the 1970s and 1980s, similar to an Adjani in Possession style. 

Overall, Louisa Connolly-Burnham crafts a thriller that plays with sexuality, obsession, and madness. Comparing it to Sister Wives, is an abrupt change in style; yet, she is still debating sexuality and societal patterns, even if they are completely different genres. If this proves anything, it’s the filmmaker's brilliant ability to tell a story with the first writing device in the art form: the framing.

Review by: Pedro Lima