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^{By: Amanda Guarragi}

As a woman, there is always reason to be on high alert. Women have been conditioned to be aware of their surroundings and protect themselves from predators. Women are the ones who carry mace in their back pocket and always have to be five steps ahead in order to be safe. What Simon Gionet does in Cayenne is interesting because he creates tension in the most basic form. The atmosphere at a secluded gas station, late at night, set the tone for the female clerk quite well. The second a man approaches her, you get an odd feeling in the pit of your stomach.

It is a very simple story but the way it was structured and presented made Cayenne intriguing. The female clerk goes out to help fix this man’s car. As she helps him, the man makes small talk with her and she is very short with him. There are subtle glances and reactions from the man, that make you question his intentions. Thus making the viewer feel like something bad is about to happen. Gionet did a very good job in creating tension in this case and making the viewer feel uncomfortable. All I wanted was to get the female clerk back to safety because this guy felt creepy.

What impressed me the most was the tracking shot near the end of the piece. Gionet follows the female clerk with his camera from behind, as she walks back to the store. The back of her head is placed in the lower half of the frame, almost like the person walking behind her was slightly taller. The assumption was made that the man was following her back to the store and in that moment your anxiety spikes. Gionet places you in the shoes of the female clerk so well and the tension is felt. The ending of the film is not what you expect at all, so it definitely keeps you invested.

Cayenne is a very well-written and directed short film that heightens your awareness of how women live in constant paranoia. Gionet shows the most simple interaction, that could happen on a regular day and the energy shifts because it’s through the eyes of a woman. It is the female clerk’s experience and yet, it symbolizes what all women think about. How they have to prepare themselves to outwit a man and get out of a possible situation. Women go through this more than we care to admit, it’s the everyday anxiety when a man looks at you in a different way.