Iliza Shlesinger stars in and wrote Chasing Summer, a comedy premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where she returns to her Texas hometown for unexpected romance. Teaming with director Josephine Decker, the film emphasizes sex scenes crafted through a female gaze and supported by intimacy coordinators. Shlesinger aimed to create an elevated comedy that balances humor with emotional depth.
Iliza Shlesinger conceived the idea for Chasing Summer in 2018, pondering "what if high school came back to bite you in the ass?" After numerous rewrites, the project evolved into a story about Jamie, a 40-something humanitarian aid worker who, following a breakup, retreats to her parents' home in Texas. There, she takes a job maintaining her sister's skating rink and embarks on a carefree summer involving parties and a romance with younger Colby.
Shlesinger, known for stand-up and sketch comedy, sought to transcend typical punchline-driven films. In a Zoom interview ahead of the film's Sundance premiere, she explained, "I wanted to make a film. I wanted to make art. I thought it’s time to make something beautiful, not just a straightforward comedy." To achieve this, she collaborated with indie director Josephine Decker, recognized for films like Shirley and Butter on the Latch. Decker, also from Texas, appreciated the script's rhythm, noting, "This is the kind of movie that always speaks to me and that I want to be directing."
The duo cast actors with regional ties, including Oklahoma native Megan Mullally as Shlesinger's mother and Texas-born Garrett Wareing as her lover. A key focus was the film's sex scenes, which Shlesinger initially scripted simply but Decker expanded for sensuality. Shlesinger recalled, "What I wrote in the script is, like, ‘Jamie and Colby kiss and they fall out of frame,’ and I show up to set and Josephine is like, ‘okay, he’s going down on you and then the camera is going to pan over you both from behind."
They prioritized a female perspective in cinematography, avoiding outdated styles. "Josephine was putting this through a female gaze and thinking about, what do we want to see as women?" Shlesinger said. "We wanted this to be beautiful for women to enjoy it." An early test screening highlighted gender differences: one man found the scenes lengthy, prompting women to retort, "sit down! They’re perfect!"
Intimacy coordinators ensured actor comfort, with Decker comparing them to fight coordinators: "The coordinator created an emotional safety net... It just deepened the storytelling." As Chasing Summer seeks distribution at Sundance, Shlesinger hopes for wide reach: "We want to make a lot of money, and we want a lot of people to see this."
