Before Riz Ahmed’s befuddled reaction to the news, the title of Pamela Ribon’s short film had a tendency to evoke a response from those who heard it. For instance, when Ribon went to retrieve her festival pass at SXSW in Austin, Texas, just before premiering her movie.
The man behind the desk queried: “What do you call it?” Ribon replied: “My Year of Dicks.” To which the man retorted without hesitation: “Same struggles here.”
Undoubtedly, there’s no Oscar nominee quite like “My Year of Dicks.” And not just because of its title, which, as Ribon points out, “is a challenge for a spam filter.”
Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir and written by Ribon herself, this short film is one of the most hilarious, heart-wrenching and endearing depictions of teenage years with all its awkwardness. It’s nominated for Best Animated Short Film at next month’s Academy Awards. Phil Lord, known for movies such as “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” and “The Lego Movie,” has dubbed the 26-minute flick “one of the greatest films of the year, regardless of its length.”
The film is based on Ribon’s 2014 memoir, “Notes to Boys (and Other Things I Shouldn’t Share in Public)” – specifically, a chapter that recounts 15-year-old Ribon’s 1991 resolution to lose her virginity while growing up on the outskirts of Houston. It’s divided into five cringeworthy chapters of intimate experiences with less-than-perfect guys, however, despite its damning title, “My Year of Dicks” focuses more on recounting and shedding light on the stumbling first steps of sexuality, rather than judging Ribon’s less-than-ideal romantic partners.
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