H. American Independents

Helen of Troy, New York, spends her days coddling creepy, ultra-realistic “reborn dolls” as her husband, Roy, quietly dreams of release from their 40-plus-year marriage. Meanwhile, another Helen of Troy, one half of a performance art duo with husband Alex, silently endures his intense self-involvement as they await the birth of their first child. Glasses begin to shatter unexpectedly, people drift into walking comas, objects fall upward and a crippling high-pitched shriek pierces the air. Then things get very, very weird. Developed through the Venice Biennale College and a hit at both the Sundance and Berlin film festivals, Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia’s unnerving end-time allegory brilliantly challenges the conventions of Hollywood’s recent spate of apocalypse narratives. Here, civilization’s end is defined not as hollowed-out cities and CG tidal waves but as an unfulfilled desire for motherhood and a longing for personal freedom. — Cedar Sherbert

Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia were featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2011. Attieh is from Lebanon, and Garcia from South Texas. Together they have made several films, including ALMOST BROOKLYN, mentored by Abbas Kiarostami; their feature film debut, OK, ENOUGH, GOODBYE; their second feature, RECOMMENDED BY ENRIQUE; and this year’s H., which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

The Film Sales Company

Details

Country: USA, Argentina

Year: 2015

Directors: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia

Screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia

Producers: Pierce Varous, Ivan Eibuszyc, Matthew Thurm, Shruti Ganguly, Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia

Director of Photography: Daniel Garcia

Editors: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia

Production Designer: Rania Attieh

Music: Kazu Makino, Alex Weston, Jesse Gelaznik, Daniel Garcia

Cast/Featuring: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson

Running Time (minutes): 97 min

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