Mark, a frustrated playwright, becomes addicted to huffing perfume to conjure up memories from his Italian summertime vacation. Mark becomes so consumed with chasing this high of the past he completely neglects the present.

Mark is a memorabilia collector and frustrated second-rate playwright caught between the reality of his life in Queens, NY and the fading memory of a trip to Italy. Addicted to the escapist scent imbued on his clothes following a perfume bottle spillage, he rushes to the perfume district of Manhattan where he is introduced to a mysterious and unorthodox chemist, who sends Mark on a secret black market odyssey in search of a rare Iris flower and other possibly nefarious items to develop the perfect, “Fior Di Latte.”

Perfumania is a wonderful & madcap freewheeling comedy that speaks to this moment in cinephilia. Eschewing traditional narrative structure in favour of a series of vignettes that reflect disparate aesthetic moments, Perfumania exemplifies the purely vibes-based ways in which users and audiences alike engage with cinema in the age of letterboxd and film tik-tok. Whilst never going formally complicated in this era of digital filmmaking (the film steadfastly remains entirely shot-on-film), this independent feature from director/musician Charlotte Ercoli traffics in a nonchalant tone that frequently makes use of musical interludes, animation and bouts of absurdist and tension building anxiety. With one eye looking towards the past and another analysing our contemporary relationship culture, the occasionally anachronistic yet ahead-of-its time Perfumania is the perfect film to kick-off the inaugural TFFF.

This event will also be preceded by the world premiere screening of 'The Belt', directed by Adrian Anderson.

This UK Premiere will be followed by a Q&A with crew.

— Kit Ramsay