Manhattan Film Festival

Viral Beauty is a fast-paced comedy about online fame culture, showcasing a world obsessed with celebrity and social media. The film blends elements of dark comedy, satire and biting social commentary using innovative, experimental mixed media to follow the journey of Marsha Day (Casey Killoran, Sex and the City), a millennial who skyrockets to internet fame after her dating ad is discovered by real-life mega-celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who introduces her video to his legion of followers. Marsha becomes subject to vicious cyber bullying over her appearance and is lampooned for her unrealistic expectations. As she defends herself against numerous haters, Marsha grows a fanbase, launching her into a cult hero. In a modern take of the Cinderella story, Marsha’s newfound fame attracts a powerful talent manager, Tara Zhang (Ruibo Qian, Broad City, Jessica Jones, Mozart in the Jungle), who shapes Marsha into an online celebrity with lucrative brand endorsements, leading her to the high life in New York City. Her career soaring, Marsha begins an exciting but rocky relationship with a handsome fitness entrepreneur, Will Durham (Mark Junek, Smash, The Outs, Law and Order: SVU, Blindspot, Forever). As the demands of love and celebrity catch up to Marsha, she must wrestle with the monster of fame. Viral Beauty is not to be missed. The film captures the pulse of today’s online world with cutting-edge digital media, multi-layered visuals, outlandish commentaries from real Youtubers and social media personalities, addictive memes, and a killer soundtrack.