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With a powerful line-up and two titles in the official selection, Beta Cinema is on its way to the Cannes Film Festival. Spearheading the slate is the newly-acquired poetic love story THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLD, which will celebrate its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section. The feature of Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov (“The Owners”), beautifully photographed by DOP Aidar Sharip, circles around young and handsome villager Saltanat and her loyal but penniless admirer Kuandyk on their way to the cruel city in a devastated attempt to save Saltanat’s mother from jail. La Semaine de la Critique hosts the world premiere of WOMAN AT WAR by acclaimed Icelandic filmmaker Benedikt Erlingsson (“Of Horses and Men”), in which fifty-year-old Halla declares a one-woman-war on the local aluminium industry to protect the pristine Icelandic Highlands she loves.
“I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world,” writes Albert Camus, paving the way for the playfully philosophical approach of director Adilkhan Yerzhanov. He displaces his characters, who are used to the vastness of the Kazakh steppe, and puts them right into the merciless heart of a city, where profit and money run the show. The couple, played with a heart-warming intensity by Dinara Baktybayeva and Kuandyk Dussenbaev, has to rely on their love to try to survive. Yerzhanov, participant at Berlinale Talents in 2014, was multiply nominated and awarded for his feature “The Owners”, which joined the official selection in Cannes, participated at Moscow IFF, was nominated for two Asian Pacific Screen Awards, won the Free Spirits award at Warsaw IFF and was awarded the Special Mention plaque at Chicago IFF, among other honours. THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLD is produced by Astana Film Fund, Short Brothers in co-production with Arizona Productions.
Handling international sales from script stage, Beta Cinema introduces Erlingsson’s second feature WOMAN AT WAR at Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week. The film tackles the burning issue of ecological degradation trough the struggle of a woman, who alone against the odds and her entire community, decides to go on a mission to preserve nature and protect the highlands. She is prepared to risk everything – until an orphan unexpectedly enters her life. Erlingsson, who is also well known as an actor, theatre director and documentarian, garnered more than 20 awards for his directorial debut “Of Horses and Men”, including Best New Director at San Sebastián, Best Director at Tokyo IFF, the Grand Jury Prize at Les Arcs European Film Festival, six Edda awards (the “Icelandic Oscars”) and the prestigious Nordic Council Film Prize. WOMAN AT WAR is produced by Slot Machine and Gulldrengurinn in co-production with Solar Media Entertainment, Köggull SF and Vintage Pictures. As producers serve Marianne Slot, Carine Leblanc and Benedikt Erlingsson.