Set in the days leading up to Barack Obama's 2008 US presidential election victory. Chelsea (Sasha Grey - making her first 'straight' acting performance) a high class call girl, who earns $2,000 an hour, is looking to move on from her personal trader boyfriend and perhaps onto one of her well off clients, who complain to her about the financial crisis. Unlike most call girls she doesn't just sell sex but the full 'Girlfriend Experience'.

There are two sides to Steven Soderberg; the mainstream side which features films like Oceans 11 and The Informant! (which also plays at this year's festival on Thursday 12th) and there's the low budget digital experimental side, with Bubble and The Limey. The Girlfriend Experience is one of the latter, but it's elegantly shot and features a terrific performance from Sasha Grey.

Preceded by:

SILENCE
USA 2008/ 3 mins
Director: Ava Lanche

Our present, too, is going to be history- to be remembered and examined by those who will come after us. And silence, as we all know, speaks louder than words..