Alia Shawkat Explores Her Sexuality In New Movie ‘Duck Butter’

Alia Shawkat's new movie is not your typical love story. It's a fast-paced romance spawned by a meet-cute that, over the span of 24 hours, goes through all the motions of a long-term romance.

In Duck Butter, the  NYLON cover star plays Naima, a 20-something frustrated with the dating lives she sees playing out around her. "I've never gotten close enough to somebody to love them," she says at one point in the film's first trailer. That's where Laia Costa's character, Sergio, comes in. A free spirit who "lives in a way that she doesn't question anything about herself," Sergio makes a pact with Naima to spend one day together, having sex on the hour and being as honest as possible with one another. All that truth, though, challenges their life together after the pact is up. 

Duck Butter comes from Miguel Arteta, the director of last year's critically acclaimed film Beatriz at Dinner, and was produced by indie favs, The Duplass Brothers. Arteta and Shawkat wrote the screenplay together. 

The film hits theaters May 11.