By: NO TOFU Staff Category: ART+FASHION Date: 29.Aug.2014

Miranda July has made tackling human interactions the subject of her oeuvre. Both of her full length movies, 2011’s The Future and 2005’s Me and You and Everyone We Know, dealt with topics of alienation, loneliness and intrapersonal communication in ways that were both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Now, she’s taken it a step further. In collaboration with Miu Miu – as part of their Women’s Tales series of short films – Miranda July created a short film titled Somebody, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week. This one, however, comes with an app. Aptly titled Somebody, the app is based on the principle that you select a contact you want to message, write said message, and the pick a stranger nearby to deliver the message in person.

Or, in July’s own words, “When you send your friend a message through Somebody, it goes—not to your friend—but to the Somebody user nearest your friend. This person (probably a stranger) delivers the message verbally, acting as your stand-in.”

There are “official hotspots”, which is presumably where “messengers” congregate (such as the Los Angeles Museum of Art), and you can even create your own “hotspot.” We can’t wait to try it. The app is available for free on iTunes and the short film is below. Miranda July will speak about Somebody at the New Museum in New York City on October 9.