| El Planeta | |
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 Poster | |
| Directed by | Amalia Ulman |
| Written by | Amalia Ulman |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Carlos Rigo Bellver |
| Edited by |
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| Production company | Holga's Meow Pictures |
| Distributed by | Utopia |
| Release date |
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| Running time | 79 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Languages |
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El Planeta is an absurdist comedy film directed and written by Amalia Ulman. The film stars Amalia Ulman, Ale Ulman (Amalia's real-life mother), Nacho Vigalondo, Zhou Chen and Saoirse Bertram.
The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021.
Plot
An absurdist comedy, the film centers on the story of a mother and daughter facing eviction in post-crisis Spain and scamming their way to a more comfortable lifestyle. The film is loosely based on the real-life Spanish mother-daughter petty-crime duo Justina and Ana Belén.
Cast
The cast includes:
- Amalia Ulman as Leonor Jimenez
- Ale Ulman as María Rendueles
- Nacho Vigalondo as Older Man
- Zhou Chen as Younger Man
- Saoirse Bertram as Fashion Editor
- Andrea Escobar as Waitress
Production
Ulman wrote, produced, and directed the feature, which stars herself and her mother in the latter's debut performance on the silver screen. The film was shot in black and white in Gijón, the Spanish town where Ulman grew up.
Release
The film had its premiere in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021, in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section.
On March 17, 2021, Utopia acquired the US distribution rights to the film. On July 16, 2021, Static Vision announced their acquisition of the Australian and New Zealand rights to the film.
The film was selected for screening at the Brisbane International Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival in October and November 2021 respectively. The film was also selected to screen at the 2021 edition of the Melbourne International Film Festival, before the in-person element of the festival was cancelled.
Reception
As of May 2022 review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 41 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 39 as positive and 2 as negative for a 95% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 7.5 out of 10.
It won critical acclaim at its Sundance screening.
Accolades
El Planeta has been nominated for and won a number of awards. Wins have included:
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: Best Director, FEISAL Award
- Galway Film Fleadh: Peripheral Visions Award
- Jerusalem Film Festival: Best International Debut
- Oak Cliff Film Festival: Best Narrative Feature
- Toulouse Cinespaña: Winner, Best Screenplay
References
- "Sundance 2021 Deals: The Complete List of Festival Purchases". June 8, 2021.
- ^ "Sundance - FPG". Sundance. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- CineconÑ (December 16, 2020). "'El Planeta', la película española que participará en Sundance 2021". cineconene.es (in Spanish). Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ "Gilda Williams on Amalia Ulman's el Planeta (2021)".
- "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - El Planeta". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- El Planeta (2021) - IMDb, retrieved January 5, 2024
- ^ "Utopia Nabs North American Rights to Sundance Hit 'El Planeta' (EXCLUSIVE)". March 17, 2021.
- Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ "Static Vision's El Planeta announcement on Instagram". July 16, 2021.
- Di Rosso, Jason (October 28, 2021). "Sydney Film Festival highlight El Planeta, David Lynch's Inland Empire and actor Hal Cumpston" (Audio + text). ABC Radio National. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- "El Planeta (2021) Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- "Artist Amalia Ulman Makes Her Feature Debut with Sundance Contender 'El Planeta'". January 30, 2021.
- ""El Planeta" Heralds Amalia Ulman as an Invigorating New Cinematic Voice". February 2021.
- "El Planeta: Awards". IMDb.