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"The Lotus Gun"
Season 4 Episode 36 | 25m 20sVideo has Closed Captions
A post-apocalyptic lesbian western.
The year is 2077. Society has collapsed. There are no cities, no guns. Just wanderers trying to survive. Nora and Daphine live an idyllic life alone and in love, far away from the drug-fueled, misogynistic communes that have trapped so many others. But when a male stranger arrives, their utopian existence takes a dark turn. Directed by Amanda Milius.
Film School Shorts is made possible by a grant from Maurice Kanbar, celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image, and by the members of KQED.
![Film School Shorts](https://image.pbs.org/contentchannels/7Sv0UuA-white-logo-41-GVG74tT.png?format=webp&resize=200x)
"The Lotus Gun"
Season 4 Episode 36 | 25m 20sVideo has Closed Captions
The year is 2077. Society has collapsed. There are no cities, no guns. Just wanderers trying to survive. Nora and Daphine live an idyllic life alone and in love, far away from the drug-fueled, misogynistic communes that have trapped so many others. But when a male stranger arrives, their utopian existence takes a dark turn. Directed by Amanda Milius.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipDaphine: I didn't choose anything before.
I used to walk the old roads at night, moving from here to there.
Nobody had cars that worked, and you just hope you don't bump into any bad people.
All I had was a knife.
Someone told me it was a Buck knife.
Nobody had guns.
The people in charge melted them down, but they didn't last much longer, anyway.
I got hooked up with whoever I could until I met Nora.
She knew how to stay in one place.
And she knew how to survive.
She could survive better than anyone.
[ Thud, dog yelps ] I didn't even see another person for, I don't know, a long time.
Nora: It's better than last time, no?
You don't like it.
Daphine: I do like it.
Nora: No, you don't.
Daphine: No, I do.
Nora: Okay.
Daphine: Nora said there were two ways to live -- In one of these communes, these groups of people doing whatever they wanted, or you could live on your own out in the wilderness by yourself.
That's what we did.
But you had to make a choice.
We were hiding out nowhere near the old cities, way beyond the fallout.
Things were pretty quiet.
Nora: Nope.
Watch this.
Yeah.
Watch this.
Daphine: Yeah, give me another one.
Oh, wait.
Nora: Watch this.
No.
Daphine: Wait.
Nora: Do it.
No!
No.
Daphine: [ Laughs ] Do another one.
Throw it.
Daphine: Ready?
Nora: Watch this.
Nope.
Watch this.
Nope.
Watch this.
Daphine: [ Laughs ] Daphine: Yep.
Can you do another one?
Daphine: Hey!
Where are you from?
Nora: I know where he's from.
Hey, freak.
What the ... your name?
Mike: Mike.
Daphine: What are you doing out here?
Nora: Yeah, Mike, what are you doing trespassing on our property?
Mike: Your property?
Nora: Yeah, our property.
Mike: Who says?
Nora: Says me.
Mike: Okay.
Well, where I'm from, we share everything.
Nora: Yeah, well, we don't.
Daphine: She's just trying to scare you.
Mike: [ Chuckles ] Nora: Traps were empty this morning.
Had to put two of those coyote ... down.
They were pissing me off, anyways.
Mike: Wait, you guys got a gun?
Nora: What the ... do you think?
Mike: I don't know.
Nora: If I had a gun, you would know.
I'd probably put a bullet in your head just for asking.
Mike: Okay.
I just heard about this girl who ran off with a gun.
You probably think I'm joking, but I'm not.
My man Dennis, back where I'm from -- He had a real gun.
Daphine: No way.
Mike: Yeah.
But then that girl ran off with it.
Daphine: Really?
That sucks.
Mike: Yeah.
It's beautiful.
It had all these snakes, had these ... flowers on it.
Nora: Do you ever shut up?
Mike: What the ...?
Nora: Move an inch... Mike: What the ... are you doing?
Nora: ...I'll gut you.
Mike: What?
[ Chuckles ] Nora: You see her?
Daphine: Nora!
Nora: You don't lay a hand on her.
Mike: Why are you tying me about this?
Nora: You don't say another word to me.
Story time's over.
Mike: What the ... did I do?
[ Grunts ] Nora: Daph, let's go.
Daphine: Nora, don't you think -- Nora: Daph!
Mike: No, don't go.
Don't go.
Don't go.
Don't go.
[ Groans ] [ Distant ] Aah!
You got to be ... kidding me!
Aah!
Hey!
Come back!
Daphine: You mad at me?
Nora: What do you think, Daph?
I know guys like him.
I know what they're about.
He's tweaked out of his mind.
He doesn't know what he's doing.
Mike: Hey!
Daphine: That guy seems cool.
Nora: Well, that's good 'cause I'm gonna kill him tomorrow.
Daphine: Nora, you can't treat people like that.
He's not an animal.
Why are you like this?
You're such a ... Nora: Yeah.
Daphine: I'm sorry.
Dennis: Welcome back, Mike.
Mike, bring that new girl over here.
Mike: Kind of face down.
But she's all yours.
Dennis: Tell everyone listen up.
Man: Everyone, wake the ... up!
Dennis: Hey.
Remember when I found you?
Each and every one of you were desperate, lost, scared ...
Some of you may have noticed Mike has been missing.
Mike left.
Mike broke the rules.
This isn't what we're about.
If you sever yourself, you're severed for life.
Don't ever come back!
But... he brought us this girl.
He could have given in to his feelings of greed and jealousy.
He didn't.
This is what separates us from everyone else out there.
Jealousy and greed, possessiveness -- These live in each one of us.
We have to fight that.
We must keep nothing for ourselves.
This is how we survive.
And you think that I've given you everything here, but, no.
No.
Guess what.
You've given it to each other.
We live in a desolate world, and we used to be afraid of that, but now look.
Hmm?
It brings us gifts.
Just like my man Mike here.
Man: Who's that?
Dennis: Who's what?
I'll be ...damned.
A lot's changed around here.
Why don't you give me my gun back?
Daphine: I didn't choose anything before.
Nora said there are two ways to live, that you had to make a choice.
♪♪
Film School Shorts is made possible by a grant from Maurice Kanbar, celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image, and by the members of KQED.