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Captain Fantastic

Horizons 2016 / Captain Fantastic / USA 2016

Ben and his six children live deep in the woods according to the rules he’s established. When tragedy strikes the family, they all head back to civilization. This original, witty, visually engaging, and emotional movie starring the charismatic Viggo Mortensen was screened to acclaim at this year’s Cannes IFF.

Captain Fantastic Captain Fantastic

Synopsis

Ben and his six children live deep in a quiet and majestic northwestern forest. Ben determines the rules governing everyday life and education, and he devotes all his time and attention to the kids, trying to teach them to be self-sufficient and to really understand their subjects of study rather than just cram it in via rote memory. While enjoying the almost perfect harmony of their fabricated paradise, however, the family is struck by tragedy and decides to head back to the city where their chosen way of life and Ben’s role as father are challenged. The charismatic Viggo Mortensen undertakes the lead as head of the likable seven-member clan, his flair for the role underpinned by his involvement in the script from the very outset. In this witty, unconventional, and touching picture, the gifted director holds a mirror up to our values and consumer lifestyle. His high-energy, visually absorbing film was a success at this year’s Cannes festival where Un Certain Regard honored Ross with Best Director.

Ivana Novotná

About the film

119 min / Color, DCP

Director Matt Ross / Screenplay Matt Ross / Dir. of Photography Stéphane Fontaine / Music Alex Somers / Editor Joseph Krings / Art Director Russell Barnes / Producer Lynette Howell Taylor, Jamie Patricof, Shivani Rawat, Monica Levinson / Production ShivHans Pictures, Electric City Entertainment / Cast Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, George Mackay, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn, Ann Dowd / Sales Sierra / Affinity / Distributor Aerofilms

About the director

Matt Ross

Matt Ross (b. 1970, Greenwich, Connecticut) studied acting at the Juilliard School, then briefly studied film at NYU. He has written and directed a number of shorts, including The Language of Love (1997), which premiered at the Sundance IFF, with subsequent screenings at US and international festivals. As an actor he has appeared in the movies of Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, 1995), Mary Harron (American Psycho, 2000), Martin Scorsese (The Aviator, 2004) and George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck, 2005). His TV series include HBO’s “Big Love” and “Silicon Valley.” This year Variety magazine nominated Ross as one of its 10 Directors to Watch. His feature film debut 28 Hotel Rooms (2011) screened in the NEXT section at the Sundance IFF and at many other festivals. Captain Fantastic is his latest directing effort.

Contacts

Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]

Sierra / Affinity
150 S El Camino Drive, 3rd Floor, CA 90212, Beverly Hills
United States of America
Phone: +1 424 253 10 60
E-mail: [email protected]

Guests

Ivo Andrle
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