“Mayday”, “Son of Monarchs” to screen at festival
HOLLYWOOD – Two EBComs clients have films screening at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which runs virtually Jan. 28 – Feb. 3.
Mayday (cinematographer/producer Sam Levy) will make its world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition Jan. 31. The directorial debut of Karen Cinorre follows Ana through a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coastline. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize that she’s not the killer they want her to be. Levy is known for his work on Ladybird, Frances Ha and Wendy and Lucy. Details of screenings are available here.
“Mayday is the most intoxicatingly visual script I’ve ever read — it is completely and utterly Karen’s creation,” says Levy. “To me it was obvious that Karen had written a masterpiece that I simply had to help bring to fruition. It is a singular cinematic creation, not to mention a cinematographer’s dream: a combination of action, surrealism and piercing dialogue. And producing while simultaneously photographing Mayday has been without question the most exhilarating challenge of my professional life.”
Mexican-American film Son of Monarchs (cinematographer Alejandro Mejía, AMC) will have its U.S. premiere in the Sundance Next category on Jan. 29. Director/biologist Alexis Gambis’ film follows the return of a Mexican biologist living in New York to his hometown, nestled in the majestic monarch butterfly forests of Michoacán. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his hybrid identity, sparking a personal and spiritual metamorphosis. The film has already won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. Details of screenings are available here.
Mejía most recently won a coveted Camerimage Golden Frog for Best Docudrama and the Best Cinematography prizes at Tribeca for his work on 499.
“For me it was important to collaborate on this fiction project with the director Alexis Gambis,” says Mejía. “We were able to tell a story from a different perspective using vintage anamorphic lenses and approaching a naturalistic style. We combined the world of the character migrating between New York and Mexico, represented by the great actor Tenoch Huerta, with a metaphor of the incredible macro world of monarch butterflies.”
Emmanuel Bates Communications congratulates its clients on creating these exceptionally beautiful and thought-provoking films.
Jacob is a film critic and co-founder of the Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Music City Film Critics’ Association and specializes in the awards season. You can find him on Twitter @Tberry57.
