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Written byKira Belle
The Student Film ‘love.exe’ is Endearingly Eccentric, and Will Make Your Heart Flutter!
It’s no secret that the dating scene in our current day and age is not ‘lover-girl friendly’. Many of us know the feeling of swiping right on a person that checks all of the boxes– a beautiful face, interesting hobbies, exceptional politics…and then fast forward to a week later and they’ve already bailed out on the second date! You start to question if you’re the problem, thoughts are racing through your head, and for a moment you consider resigning from being a hopeless romantic – but what if you weren’t able to give it up? What if you found yourself trapped in a Virtual Reality dating simulator and the only way out was to find love, the very thing you want to run away from…
‘Love.exe’, the SAE student film directed by Nicole Robyn Retief is the wholesome rom-com in which the protagonist, Gwen, finds herself in that exact situation. This film reignites that classic feeling of ‘head-in-the-clouds’ love, by sprinkling in dashes of comedy, and ‘illustrating’ an eclectic cast of characters. Through beautifully saturated color-grading, and on point set design – I was immediately immersed in the ‘digital’ aesthetic. With exceptional direction, Nicole uses a sci-fi theme as a subversive narrative device that expands the romance genre by coupling it with a unique and electrifying plot.
“With exceptional direction, Nicole uses a sci-fi theme as a subversive narrative device that expands the romance genre by coupling it with a unique and electrifying plot.”
In the beginning, Gwen is seen vomiting into a toilet, hungover. She picks up her phone to find out that she was removed on a dating app – defeated, she’s about to carry on hurling, before a strange advert pops up on the screen. The text says “Sick of the system?”, stunned, Gwen is unable to process what she has just read. In a daze, she haphazardly puts the phone down as the ad transitions into a mysterious loading scene. This marks the start of the strange series of events that would teleport her into the quirky Virtual Reality world, wherein three interesting suitors await her.
When integrated into the digital landscape, Gwen is met with the sarcastic and cheeky Narrator of the dating simulator, ‘Alex’, who keeps her on her toes. Their dynamic charmingly lures in the audience with that ‘push and pull’ factor, setting up their connection for progression in the background as Gwen goes on dates with the game’s predetermined suitors. Dylan “Mr Swag”, Brendan the pop corn ‘giemba’, and William who is known as ‘prince charming’, all have their chuckle-worthy, and entertaining interactions with her as she grapples with the awkwardness of love.
As she navigates their different personalities during nerve-wrecking dates the audience gets to experience Gwen’s own personality transform – indicative of Nicole’s claircognizant directing, being that the characters feel real, relatable, and full of progression. Out of the three men, Gwen finds herself disillusioned… but one person doesn’t leave her mind – making way for the film’s sugary-sweet and ‘meta’ twist that is sure to make you go “awww!”.
‘love.exe’ deeply spoke to me, as an awkward girlie myself. Seeing someone with my personality, eventually overcoming her anxious streak, and loosening up was highly relatable and added to that zany, but feel-good rom-com energy. What also stood out to me, was the fact that the narrative did not ‘punish’ Gwen for her bashfulness, being that it was actually one of the factors that ultimately led her to recognize her ‘true’ love interest. This is seen when she constantly found herself struggling to connect with David, Brendan and William, but eventually found the power in herself to let go a little bit and embrace her own unique flair with a ‘certain someone’.
After airing for the first time at multiple film festivals, ‘love.exe’ went on to achieve various national, and international awards. Namely, the Monza Film Fest 2026 awards for best young director, actor, comedy; and the Rising Lens Film fest 2026 award for best achievement in cinematography. Seeing this South African student film blossom upon its release was incredibly touching, and its evident success is a clear hallmark of the excellence that our youth possesses in the ‘arts’. Nicole Robyn Retief, along with the team behind ‘love.exe’, have cultured a film that is filled to the brim with comedic dialogue and amazing filmography – the skill used to create this student short is an amazing feat itself!
