Charlie Polinger’s debut “The Plague,” a psychological thriller starring Joel Edgerton, won the Grand Prize at the 51st edition of the Deauville American Film Festival, which wraps this evening in the French Normandie town.
The movie opened at Cannes, in Un Certain Regard, where it earned solid reviews. It tells the story of a shy teenager dealing with vicious bullying while attending an all-boys water polo camp. It was acquired by the Independent Film Company for North American distribution, while AGC Studios handles international sales. Edgerton, who was at Deauville this week to present his Netflix movie “Train Dreams” and receive a tribute, produced “The Plague.”
The jury, presided over by French-Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani, handed out two Jury prizes ex aequo for “Olmo,” directed by Fernando Eimbcke and Cole Webley’s “Omaha.”
“Olmo,” produced by Plan B and Michel Franco, follows the journey of a Mexican-American family through the eyes of a 14-year-old teen who is stuck at home caring for his bedridden father. The movie world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.
“Omaha,” meanwhile, is a road trip drama that premiered at Sundance and revolves around a struggling widower who takes his children on an unexpected cross-country road trip after a family tragedy.
Kristen Stewart’s “Chronology of Water” won the Revelation Award, while Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great” won the audience nod.
Based on Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir of the same name, the film follows a woman (Imogen Poots) who emerges from an abusive childhood and channels her trauma into competitive swimming, sexual exploration, toxic relationships and addiction, before eventually discovering her voice as a writer.
variety.com
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