There are few boundaries on public transportation, at least not physical ones. Crammed together in small spaces for oftentimes unexpected lengths of time, people who don’t normally interact are suddenly forced into each others’ orbits. Such is the concept behind Tribeca winner “Materna,” which uses the New York City subway system as a meeting point for four seemingly very different women, all of whom are forced to deal with an unexpected encounter and the impact it has on their lives. At its heart, motherhood and questions of feminine identity burn bright.
The film is the directorial debut of David Gutnik, who is also the editor of several acclaimed features, including Christina Choe’s 2018 Sundance award-winning drama “Nancy.” Gutnik wrote the film alongside two of his stars, Jade Eshete (“Billions” and “High Maintenance”) and Assol Abdullina (in one of her first film roles), and the film also features leading roles...
The film is the directorial debut of David Gutnik, who is also the editor of several acclaimed features, including Christina Choe’s 2018 Sundance award-winning drama “Nancy.” Gutnik wrote the film alongside two of his stars, Jade Eshete (“Billions” and “High Maintenance”) and Assol Abdullina (in one of her first film roles), and the film also features leading roles...
- 7/12/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Utopia has acquired worldwide rights to David Gutnik’s “Materna” ahead of the film’s in-person debut at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
The movie looks at four women, whose lives intersect during an incident on a New York City subway. Kate Lyn Sheil (“She Dies Tomorrow”), Jade Eshete (“Billions”), Lindsay Burdge (“Black Bear”), Assol Abdullina (“First Snow”), Michael Chernus (“Orange Is the New Black”), Rory Culkin (“Castle Rock”) and Sturgill Simpson (the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon”) all star. Abdullina and Eshete co-wrote the screenplay with Gutnik.
According to the official logline: “‘Materna’ follows the journeys of four New York women who are isolated by city life, separated by class, politics, race and religion, and yet bound by a shared hunger for identity and connection. With their futures at stake, the characters’ lives are upended by a fateful encounter underground, where their stories of personal transformation become a battle for survival.
The movie looks at four women, whose lives intersect during an incident on a New York City subway. Kate Lyn Sheil (“She Dies Tomorrow”), Jade Eshete (“Billions”), Lindsay Burdge (“Black Bear”), Assol Abdullina (“First Snow”), Michael Chernus (“Orange Is the New Black”), Rory Culkin (“Castle Rock”) and Sturgill Simpson (the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon”) all star. Abdullina and Eshete co-wrote the screenplay with Gutnik.
According to the official logline: “‘Materna’ follows the journeys of four New York women who are isolated by city life, separated by class, politics, race and religion, and yet bound by a shared hunger for identity and connection. With their futures at stake, the characters’ lives are upended by a fateful encounter underground, where their stories of personal transformation become a battle for survival.
- 4/28/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
On the night my first feature film, “Materna,” was set to world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on opening night of the program, I found myself instead watching Abbas Kiarostami’s film, “The Wind Will Carry Us,” at home.
“The Wind Will Carry Us” follows Behzad, a filmmaker traveling to a remote Kurdish village to document the death of a 100-year-old woman. The trouble is, she won’t die. Instead, Behzad spends much of the movie searching for cellphone reception, in a panic about the fate of his project. The experience forces him to slow down and learn to adjust to his new normal — the slower rhythms and traditions of the village. The relevance to the moment was obvious enough. But what the lesson was for me was not immediately clear.
***
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a Russian immigrant family. My childhood home was...
“The Wind Will Carry Us” follows Behzad, a filmmaker traveling to a remote Kurdish village to document the death of a 100-year-old woman. The trouble is, she won’t die. Instead, Behzad spends much of the movie searching for cellphone reception, in a panic about the fate of his project. The experience forces him to slow down and learn to adjust to his new normal — the slower rhythms and traditions of the village. The relevance to the moment was obvious enough. But what the lesson was for me was not immediately clear.
***
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a Russian immigrant family. My childhood home was...
- 4/30/2020
- by David Gutnik
- Variety Film + TV
Entering its 19th edition this year, Tribeca Film Festival has announced its feature film lineup, including a number of anticipated titles as well as festival favorites. World premiering at the festival is Chad Hartigan’s sci-fi romance Little Fish, Gerardo Naranjo’s Kokoloko, Eleanor Coppola’s Love is Love is Love, Michael Winterbottom’s sequel The Trip to Greece, Rodney Ascher’s A Glitch in the Matrix, Talya Lavie’s Honeymood, BenDavid Grabinski’s Happily, Bryan Bertino’s The Dark & The Wicked, plus documentaries on Stanley Kubrick, Dmx, Harry Belafonte, John Belushi, Brian Wilson, and more.
In terms of festival favorites, there’s Josephine Decker’s Shirley (our review), Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me, Gaspar Noé’s medium-length work Lux Aeterna, the St. Vincent-Carrie Brownstein collaboration The Nowhere Inn, and more. Plus, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island will...
In terms of festival favorites, there’s Josephine Decker’s Shirley (our review), Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me, Gaspar Noé’s medium-length work Lux Aeterna, the St. Vincent-Carrie Brownstein collaboration The Nowhere Inn, and more. Plus, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island will...
- 3/4/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler’s feature Radium Girls has been snapped up by Juno Films, which is taking all North American rights and English-speaking territories. The pic, which made its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, will open April 3 at the Quad Cinema in New York followed by a national rollout.
Starring Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Joey King and Little Women‘s Abby Quinn, Radium Girls follows teen sisters who dream of Hollywood and Egyptian pyramids as they paint luminous watch dials at the American Radium factory in New Jersey. When Jo (Quinn) loses a tooth, Bessie’s (King) world is turned upside down as a mystery slowly unravels. She discovers a corporate cover-up and, in a radical coming-of-age story, Bessie and the Radium Girls decide to take on American Radium. The national sensation following the case of the Radium Girls ultimately led to significant...
Starring Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Joey King and Little Women‘s Abby Quinn, Radium Girls follows teen sisters who dream of Hollywood and Egyptian pyramids as they paint luminous watch dials at the American Radium factory in New Jersey. When Jo (Quinn) loses a tooth, Bessie’s (King) world is turned upside down as a mystery slowly unravels. She discovers a corporate cover-up and, in a radical coming-of-age story, Bessie and the Radium Girls decide to take on American Radium. The national sensation following the case of the Radium Girls ultimately led to significant...
- 2/25/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
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