American flight attendant Gina (Lindsay Burdge) arrives at each new destination in a state of emotional paralysis following her lover’s suicide. But she snaps out of her funk when she meets the sophisticated and charming Parisian bartender Jerome (Damien Bonnard) and hastily moves to his home city. Blinded by unrequited love, Gina teeters on the edges of heartbreak and sanity when an old flame of Jerome’s suddenly reenters his life.

Tribeca alum Nathan Silver (Actor Martinez, TFF 2016) fuses cineaste influences ranging from ’70s-era Rainer Fassbinder to Polish auteur Walerian Borowczyk to humanize the often-blurred separation between one-sided love and dangerous obsession. In a multi-faceted performance that seamlessly volleys between raw vulnerability and woman-on-the-edge unease, Silver’s Actor Martinez co-star Lindsay Burdge once again confirms why she’s one of the most compelling actresses currently working in independent film. Narrated by Anjelica Huston, Thirst Street captures the complexities of unbridled lust through the purity of classic European cinema.

—Cara Cusumano