Julia Fox’s Steamy Lesbian Romance ‘Perfect’ Heats Up SXSW With Pregnant Sex, Panty Sniffing and FKA Twigs Soundtrack

Newly minted film star Ashley Moore had some instructions for the audience at the world premiere of her new SXSW movie.

“Leave horny, people! Leave horny,” said the actor, who stars opposite Julia Fox in “Perfect,” a steamy lesbian romance directed by Millicent Hailes.

“It’s just fun,” said Hailes, who took on her first narrative project after directing music videos for the likes of Lil Yachty and Young Thugs. “It’s just hot, cunt, sexy, sweaty, fun.”

Indeed, “Perfect” features plenty of nudity and sex — and even one scene that involves panty sniffing. The film follows Kai (Moore), a drifter who gets stuck in a desert town during a global shortage of clean water. When she meets the mysterious and pregnant Mallory (Fox) — described by one character as a “total fucking MILF” — Kai embarks on a slippery romance full of twists and turns.

“The amount of nuance in this film could be three films long,” said Fox, describing the dynamic between her and Moore’s characters. Introducing Moore, who takes on her first lead role in “Perfect,” Fox said to the audience, “A star is born.”

Many of the film’s sex scenes are soundtracked by the throbbing dance songs of FKA Twigs, with “Eusexua” backing a central scene between Kai and Mallory in a lake. “I really wanted some pivotal, poignant moments to be to those songs, because, [‘Eusexua’] just really resonated with me,” Hailes said in a post-screening Q&A.

Before the film, she asked the audience at the State Theatre in Austin to provide live feedback. “If you see something you love, just give me a ‘Woo.’ If you see something you hate, ‘Ooh,'” she said. “If someone that is so hot your eyes are burning enters the screen, clap. I want to hear what you think. This is not a polite film.”

After a slow-burning intro, when Kai and Mallory finally kiss, the crowd broke out into cheers.

“Perfect” also stars Lío Mehiel, Micaela Wittman, Ryder McLaughlin, Kate Moennig and Creed Bratton. The film is a sales title at SXSW, with Hailes sending up “cigarette smoke signals” to buyers.