The last two premieres of the International Competition of feature films are American: James White is screened today at 21h30, at Culturgest. The producer of Afterschool (Antonio Campos) or Martha Marcy May Marlene (Sean Durkin) debuts as a director. James White portrays the growing struggle of a young New Yorker who has to leave behind a self-destructive behavior and help his mother (Cynthia Nixon). Ted Fendt shoots in 35mm this Short Stay, as a naturalistic portray of a mumble anti-hero, in a time that seems to go back to the city environment of the seventies. Today at 19h30, at Culturgest.
Jia/The Family has a second and last screening on Saturday, April 30th at 15h, at Museu do Oriente. Jia can be decribed as a contemporary version of the Japanese classic, Tokyo Story, by Yasujiro Ozu. In this film, which enticed some of the critics in the last Venice Film Festival, he worked mainly with non actors, creating a lengthy portrayal not only of the relationships between parents and sons, but also about the daily life in the contemporary Chinese world, particularely in Shanghai.
Also on April 30th at 22h15, Lucile Hadžihalilovic presents Evolution at Cinema Ideal, a work which is part of the Mouth of Madness section. A collaborator of Gaspar Noé, Lucile Hadžihalilovic won the special prize of the juri in San Sebastian Film Festival with this film which deals with the subjects of motherhood and puberty seen through the strong lens of the fantastic tale.