Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #180. Ulrich Seidl’s In the Basement

In the Basement

Director: Ulrich Seidl
Producers: Martin Gschlact
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Seidl returns to his roots as a documentary filmmaker for his first feature after completing his revered Paradise trilogy. The director has several projects he’s working on at any given time, but this one appears to be completed. His latest subject means to explore the relationship Austrians have with their basements, as well as the possible specificities of Austrian basements. While details remain vague, Seidl has been filming this on and off since 2009, but when we interviewed Seidl earlier this year around the time Paradise: Faith was receiving a theatrical release, the director confirmed the project had nothing to do with the notorious Josef Fritzl case from 2008.

Gist: In the Basement seeks to depict Austrian’s relationships with their basements and to define the specificities of Austrian basements – and if in fact such specificities exist. A filmic exploration of the daily lives of Austrian basements, the film will both unearth answers and throw up new questions, thereby shedding light on the hidden underground.

Release Date: We predicted this title as a possible 2013 Main Competition selection at Cannes. Maybe we’ll see it unveiled there this year.

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