PRINCESS RITA

Alan is an insurance adjuster who frequently travels to disaster sites with a small group of colleagues to assess damaged properties. He has fallen hard for an (unbeknownst to him) online dating scammer named “Rita” who claims to need money in order to travel to Florida to be with him. Alan’s fantasies about Rita sustain and uplift him during his frequently depressing work, raising questions about whether it’s the idea or the authenticity of love that really matters. 

Director’s Bio

Blair Waters grew up in the Virgin Islands and directed her first video in 2011, a zero budget project with a friend that ended up premiering on Pitchfork. After that she worked her way up from intern to Executive Producer at NYLON.

Since going freelance 3 years ago, she’s worked with clients like Amazon, Target, and eBay, for publications like Elle, Refinery29, and Harper’s Bazaar, directed MTV Hits of the Week, and worked on Clio Award winning campaigns. She edits pretty much everything she directs, and her solo bedroom-pop project Gussie has charted in France and seen steady rotation on SiriusXMU.

In 2018 she ventured into narrative work: first for Netflix, with a mini-series penned by Lauren Gussis (Dexter) promoting Netflix’s controversial teen show Insatiable, and then with her first short film ever: Princess Rita, on which she was also the editor, producer and production designer.

FESTIVAL JURY AWARD

Plays in

CLOSING NITE

We close the 2019 Nitehawk Shorts Festival with eight short films that present stories on the intimacy of the nail salon, absurdist, dark comedies, and powerful coming-of-age stories about friendship.