Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #133. La Casa de Antiguidades – João Paulo Miranda Maria
La Casa de Antiguidades
Brazil’s João Paulo Miranda Maria seems primed for international success with his feature debut La Casa de Antiguidades (Memory House), produced by Didar Domehri (Paulina, 2015) and starring Antonio Pitanga (an iconic actor from the Cinema Novo movement who starred in several noted titles, including films by Carlos Diegues), Ana Flavia Cavalcanti and Belgium’s Sam Louwyck (Bullhead, 2011). Sebastian Lelio DP Benjamin Echazarreta (Gloria; A Fantastic Woman), who also worked on Flora Lua’s upcoming Luz, serves as cinematographer. Maria’s 2015 short Command Action premiered at Cannes and his 2016 short The Girl Who Danced with the Devil competed in the Cannes short program, winning a Special Mention.
Gist: Cristovam leads a lonely life, working in a rural milk factory which was once part of a former Austrian colony in Brazil. His cultural heritage further enhances his feelings of estrangement. One day, he discovers an abandoned house filled with objects reminding him of his origins. As he settles into the house, more such objects appear, as if the house itself were alive. Deprived of social contact, Cristovam transforms into a ‘half-man, half-beef creature.’
Release Date/Prediction: Filmed over the summer of 2019, we expect Memory House to be premiere at Cannes 2020, potentially competing in Critics’ Week.
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