THE GIRL AND THE SPIDER World Cinema

Following the theatrical screening, watch a special conversation with directors Ramon and Silvan Zürcher moderated by AFI Festivals Programmer Malin Kan.

In the long-awaited follow-up to their 2013 collaboration THE STRANGE LITTLE CAT and a continuation in what they describe as “a loose trilogy about human togetherness,” Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s THE GIRL AND THE SPIDER takes place over the course of two days as Lisa is moving out of the apartment she shares with Mara. Friends and neighbors appear intermittently to assist, resulting in a series of odd, if seemingly minor, interactions with unspoken tensions simmering just beneath the surface. Its formal language complex, singular and assured, each movement and each look are pointed and precise in intention, hinting at the absurd nature of human relationships and underscoring the unconscious parameters – such as the confines of space and the laws of gravity – that dictate human behavior. Winner of Best Director in the Encounters section at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival. –Malin Kan