We’ve been HUGE fans of Taryn Southern ever since her breakout viral hit, “Hot For Hillary” way back in 2007, so it’s only appropriate that we’re talking about her latest project on an election day. We first heard that Taryn and several other top YouTube creators were partnering with Vimeo to produce exclusive premium content back in August and we’ve been eagerly awaiting news ever since. So naturally, when Vimeo invited us to take a peek at Taryn’s new film “Searching for Katie” we were all over over it.
While fellow Vimeo collaborators Joey Graceffa and Comicbookgirl19 have used the deal to offer expanded versions of their familiar YouTube content via Vimeo’s on-demand service, Taryn has created something entirely unique. Searching For Katie is shot in documentary style with Taryn playing a fictionalized version of herself as a content creator filming an investigative documentary. The subject of the documentary is Katie, a friend’s sister who has mysteriously disappeared. Katie’s disappearance coincides with her joining the fictional “Young Artists Co-Op,” a cult-like organization that may have more sinister motives.
Though the events and organization portrayed are fictional, Searching For Katie reads as equal parts thriller and educational docudrama. The cult’s pervasive influence over its members is sharply drawn and could easily serve as an instructive warning against the danger presented by their real life counterparts. Taryn Southern has already proven herself a gifted creator of viral videos, but with Searching For Katie she proves herself to be an adept and exciting filmmaker as well. We can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.
Searching for Katie is available to rent or buy through Vimeo’s on-demand service. We reccomend that you check it out!
