Cinemad Wipe Themselves in ‘Shit Year’

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Micro-distributor Cinemad Presents have added what I imagine is their first Cannes title to their humble slate. Cam Archer’s 2010 Cannes preemed Shit Year (Directors’ Fortnight) will be brought to market next month with a booking at the IFC in NYC with other venues/cities to follow. Here’s coverage of what the world premiere screening looked like back in May of ’10. 

Gist: Colleen West (Ellen Barkin), a once renowned actress, comes unhinged as she confronts retirement and life at the twilight of her career. Haunted, she plummets into a hallucinatory affair with Harvey (Luke Grimes), a much younger actor who she met doing a small play.

Worth Noting: This is Cinemad’s second time working with Archer – before getting into the distribution business, the decade old blog previously showcased his short film, above below in the short film compilation called, Cinemad: 2009 Short Film Almanac.

Do We Care?: I called this a cross “Jim Jarmusch’s early days and Anton Corbijn videos from the late 80’s but with a tone that is slightly surreal, slightly candid in the notion of retirement and slightly distilled with the use of B&W containing a dreamy, docu-like quality”. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into the avant-garde.

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society), FIPRESCI and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

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