MUBI UK's August roster features the latest from Italian filmmaker
Jonas Carpignano, an acclaimed Ethiopian docudrama, a season
spotlighting Tilda Swinton and more.
A Chiara
The third in his loosely-connected ‘Calabrian trilogy’ (following
Mediterranea and
A Ciambra), Jonas Carpignano explores the true meaning of family in
A Chiara
(2021), a gritty neorealist drama that tells the coming-of-age story of a
teenage girl grappling with the sins of her father.
In an astonishing, award-winning central performance,
Swamy Rotolo plays Chiara, the 15-year-old daughter of the affluent
Guerrasio family (all played by Rotolo’s real-life family) who live a
seemingly idyllic life in the Calabrian city of Gioia Tauro. When her
father Claudio (Claudio Rotolo) suddenly disappears after her
sister’s 18th birthday party, Chiara embarks on a dangerous investigation
that draws her deeper into the mafia underworld, gradually discovering
that her family’s ties to the local crime world are more troubling than
she thought.
Vividly brought to life by Tim Curtin’s (Beasts of the Southern Wild) cinematography as well as its powerful, naturalistic performances, the
film won the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film, in the
Cannes 2021 Directors’ Fortnight.
An emerging talent in contemporary cinema, Carpignano crafts intimate,
neorealist tales of lives on the fringes of Italian society. Etched with
an emotional authenticity and straddling the line between fiction and
documentary, MUBI presents Jonas Carpignano’s Calabria: A Double Bill,
featuring his previous feature A Ciambra (2017).
Faya Dayi
From Mexican-Ethiopian director and cinematographer Jessica Bashir,
Faya Dayi (2021) is a lyrical, spiritual journey into the
rituals and trade practices of Khat, a stimulant green leaf that -
according to Ethiopian legend - was founded by Sufi Imams in search of
eternity.
A hypnotic blend of documentary and drama, this immersive experience
weaves a tapestry of intimate stories of people for whom chewing this
lucrative crop has become a form of religious meditation, radical escape
and a space of socialisation and revolt against oppressive forces.
Beshir’s visually breathtaking debut examines the landscape through
vignettes that highlight the vast economic and social force of Khat,
channelling its rebellion and reverence into an ode to the country’s
turbulent past unfolding into its urgent present.
Babysitter
The sophomore feature Babysitter (2022), directed by and
starring Monia Chokri (revealed on the big screen by Xavier Dolan’s
Heartbeats), arrives exclusively on MUBI following its world premiere at this
year’s Sundance Film Festival.
After going viral for drunkenly accosting a television reporter, Cédric
(Patrick Hivon) is suspended from work and finds himself stuck at
home with his exhausted wife Nadine (Chokri) and shrieking infant
daughter. Enter babysitter Amy (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), a captivating
young woman who forces them to confront their sexual anxieties while
turning their lives upside down.
Adapted from Catherine Léger’s stage play of the same name, the
psychosexual comedy mixes gender satire and screwball farce wrapped in a
highly stylised retro-aesthetic.
Paris 13th District
The latest from acclaimed, award-winning filmmaker
Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone),
Paris 13th District
(2021) is a scintillating comedy-drama that explores 21st century sexual
and social manners set among the young local residents of Les Olympiades,
a vibrant neighbourhood in the French capital’s 13th arrondissement.
Co-written by Céline Sciamma (Petite Maman, Girlhood) and Léa Mysius (The Five Devils,
Ava) and based on a collection of Adrian Tomine’s celebrated short
stories, the film features an ensemble cast of loosely-connected
characters who alternate between being friends and sometimes lovers, all
the while exploring life, love and the pursuit of connection in the
digital age.
Taming the Garden
Salomé Jashi’s Taming the Garden (2021) is a haunting
tale capturing the clash between man and nature as she observes the former
prime minister of Georgia collecting century old trees along Georgia’s
coastline, uprooting them from their lands to be transplanted into his
private garden.
With a surreal, Herzogian eye for the absurdity of human claims on nature,
this hypnotic documentary engages privilege and poverty in the embrace of
myth. A folkloric allegory narrated with breathtaking images that
contemplates an ecological monument to madness and extravagance.
Festival Focus: Locarno Film Festival
Direct from the small lakeside Swiss town and one of the world’s most
important destinations for new visions and the best of international
cinema, the Locarno Film Festival returns to MUBI with a brand new
selection of bold, adventurous titles from the 2021 edition.
This year’s series includes: Squish! (2021) a vibrant
exploration of identity and mental health informed by Thai animation
history, Holy Emy (2021), a mythical story about the
liberation and emancipation of two sisters within their tight-knit
Filipino Catholic community in Athens, Emilie Aussel’s feature
debut Our Eternal Summer (2021) which follows the carefree
summer days of a group of teenagers who suddenly have to grapple with the
world’s cruel side for the very first time, and
Public Toilet Africa (2021), a satirical revenge tale from
up-and-coming Ghanaian filmmaker Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah.
The One and Only: Tilda Swinton
MUBI presents The One and Only: Tilda Swinton, a special season
spotlighting the beloved and ever-fascinating chameleonic actress. A
frequent collaborator of directors Derek Jarman, Luca Guadagnino, and Jim
Jarmusch, the world has seen her transform and shapeshift into some of the
most iconic of roles.
This focus will showcase the wide variety of Swinton’s performances across
genres, from sci-fi to comedy, spanning her decades-long career. Some
highlights: include Joanna Hogg’s graduation short film
Caprice (1986), feminist sci-fi comedy
Teknolust (2002), in which Swinton plays four characters,
and Sally Potter’s Orlando (1992).
Mia Hansen-Løve: Things to Come and Go
Following its release of Mia Hansen-Løve’s Swedish summer tale
Bergman Island
(2021), MUBI revisits the auteur’s beloved semi-autobiographical works that
push the boundaries between fiction and reality. The series includes
Goodbye First Love (2011), where besotted teenagers overcome
the loss of first love, and The Father of My Children (2009),
where a father struggles to balance his family life with his failing
business. Exploring love, loss and the unexpected things the universe throws
our way, Hansen-Løve captures the twists and turns of life with simplicity
and charm.
Spotlight on Ted Fendt
The latest films from acclaimed, multi-hyphenate American filmmaker,
translator, and projectionist Ted Fendt form this month’s director
focus. Fendt’s low-budget, compact indie features explore the tragicomic
dimension of the everyday through narrative restraint, intellectual
curiosity and deadpan humour. Often working with friends and nonprofessional
actors and even appearing in the films themselves, this selection includes
Outside Noise (2021), Classical Period (2018)
and Short Stay (2016) – each clocking in at around 60
minutes.
Jules Dassin: A Double Bill
MUBI presents two haunting masterworks from Jules Dassin – the
American filmmaker once blacklisted from Hollywood during the McCarthy Era.
Made within nine months of one another and known for their
hard-hitting grit and stark cinematography,
Brute Force (1947), the prison melodrama starring
Burt Lancaster, and The Naked City (1948), the first
film shot entirely on location in New York City, arrive on the platform this
month.
Squish!
Tulapop Saenjaroen’s meditation on the self through lurid and liquid
forms, Squish! (2021), is a funny and vibrant exploration of
identity and mental health in a late capitalist world. Employing a
fascinating range of visual techniques filtered through both old and
foreseeable technology informed by Thai animation history and contemporary
culture, Saenjaroen explores the constant process of constructing and
deforming new selves.
Between Two Dawns
Between Two Dawns (2021), the harrowing debut thriller from
newcomer Selman Nacar, paints an eye-opening portrait of contemporary
Turkey and its economic divide. Following Kadir after a worker is severely
injured in his family business, he is forced to reckon with the consequences
of his moral decisions and the impact they have on his dreams, his family
and the life of the injured worker’s wife.
Bubble Bath
The only feature film by painter György Kovásznai, a pioneer of
Hungarian animation, Bubble Bath (1980) arrives on MUBI this
month. A neurotic interior decorator, Zsolt, finds himself getting cold feet
on the day of his nuptials. He takes refuge in the apartment of Anni, an
acquaintance of Klári, his bride-to-be, whilst Klári herself is enjoying the
wedding party too much to care about her absent groom. The barrage of
screwball antics, musical moments and elements of romantic comedy along with
the bold graphics and experimental soundscapes still inspire animators
today.
Outside Noise
Ted Fendt’s latest, Outside Noise (2021), is a tale
full of commonplace incidents and deadpan vignettes exploring friendship,
dissatisfaction and the pleasures and anxieties of the in-between years of
your early thirties. The film follows Daniela, a restless woman in Vienna,
who tries to find a way out of what she terms a "constant liminal phase" by
wandering around her neighbourhood and spending time with two friends, Mia
and Natascha, visiting from Berlin. Shot on textured 16mm film, glowing with
natural light and co-written by Fendt and his two lead actors,
Daniela Zahlner and Mia Sellmann.
