El Planeta is an absurdist comedy film directed and written by Amalia Ulman. The film stars Amalia Ulman, Ale Ulman (Amalia's real-life mother), Nacho Vigalondo, Zhou Chen and Saoirse Bertram.[3]
| El Planeta | |
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 Poster | |
| Directed by | Amalia Ulman |
| Written by | Amalia Ulman |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Carlos Rigo Bellver |
| Edited by |
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Production company | |
| Distributed by | Utopia[1] |
Release date | |
Running time | 79 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Languages |
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The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021.[2]
Plot
editAn absurdist comedy, the film centers on the story of a mother and daughter facing eviction in post-crisis Spain and scamming their way to a more comfortable lifestyle. The film is loosely based on the real-life Spanish mother-daughter petty-crime duo Justina and Ana Belén.[4]
Cast
editThe cast includes:[5]
- Amalia Ulman as Leonor Jimenez
- Ale Ulman as María Rendueles
- Nacho Vigalondo as Older Man
- Zhou Chen as Younger Man
- Saoirse Bertram as Fashion Editor
- Andrea Escobar as Waitress[6]
Production
editUlman wrote, produced, and directed the feature, which stars herself and her mother in the latter's debut performance on the silver screen.[4] The film was shot in black and white in Gijón, the Spanish town where Ulman grew up.[7]
Release
editThe film had its premiere in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021, in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section.[8]
On March 17, 2021, Utopia acquired the US distribution rights to the film.[7] On July 16, 2021, Static Vision announced their acquisition of the Australian and New Zealand rights to the film.[9]
The film was selected for screening at the Brisbane International Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival in October and November 2021 respectively.[10] The film was also selected to screen at the 2021 edition of the Melbourne International Film Festival, before the in-person element of the festival was cancelled.[9]
Reception
editAs of May 2022[update] review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 41 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 39 as positive and 2 as negative for a 95% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 7.5 out of 10.[11]
Accolades
editEl Planeta has been nominated for and won a number of awards. Wins have included:[14]
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: Best Director, FEISAL Award
- Galway Film Fleadh: Peripheral Visions Award
- Jerusalem Film Festival: Best International Debut
- Oak Cliff Film Festival: Best Narrative Feature
- Toulouse Cinespaña: Winner, Best Screenplay
References
edit- ^ "Sundance 2021 Deals: The Complete List of Festival Purchases". June 8, 2021.
- ^ a b "Sundance - FPG". Sundance. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ CineconÑ (December 16, 2020). "'El Planeta', la película española que participará en Sundance 2021". cineconene.es (in Spanish). Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "Gilda Williams on Amalia Ulman's el Planeta (2021)".
- ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - El Planeta". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ El Planeta (2021) - IMDb, retrieved January 5, 2024
- ^ a b "Utopia Nabs North American Rights to Sundance Hit 'El Planeta' (EXCLUSIVE)". March 17, 2021.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "Static Vision's El Planeta announcement on Instagram". July 16, 2021.
- ^ Di Rosso, Jason (October 28, 2021). "Sydney Film Festival highlight El Planeta, David Lynch's Inland Empire and actor Hal Cumpston" (Audio text). ABC Radio National. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ "El Planeta (2021) Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ "Artist Amalia Ulman Makes Her Feature Debut with Sundance Contender 'El Planeta'". January 30, 2021.
- ^ ""El Planeta" Heralds Amalia Ulman as an Invigorating New Cinematic Voice". February 2021.
- ^ "El Planeta: Awards". IMDb.