Official Selection - Competition 2009 / Cold Souls / USA 2008
A melancholic comedy by debuting Sophie Barthes which presents Paul Giamatti as a New York stage actor who decides to confront his approaching nervous breakdown by having his soul extracted and deep-frozen. Gogol, Buñuel, Jung and Woody Allen were the inspiration behind this original film, screened for the first time at this year’s Sundance festival.
In this melancholic comedy by debuting Sophie Barthes, we find Paul Giamatti, as a famous New York stage actor, in the midst of an existential crisis brought on by his role in an upcoming production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. After seeing an ad in a magazine, angst-ridden Paul places himself in the care of a mysterious company which guarantees him relief by extracting and temporarily freezing his soul. Now suddenly unburdened, the celebrated actor soon encounters one bizarre complication after another, and he begins to sense that the road leading back to his soul will be paved with once-in-a-lifetime experiences. While the director acknowledges inspiration from Gogol, Buñuel, Jung and Woody Allen, her mature debut is one of the most original films to come out of this year. She presents the story, based on her own dream, incorporating surreal elements and philosophical overlay, with intellectual playfulness and a sense of the absurd. Alongside the superb Giamatti, who was also involved in the production, the film also boasts the equally outstanding Emily Watson, David Strathairn and Dina Korzun.
101 min / Color, 35 mm
European premiere
Director Sophie Barthes
/ Screenplay Sophie Barthes
/ Dir. of Photography Andrij Parekh
/ Music Dickon Hinchliffe
/ Editor Andy Mondshein
/ Producer Paul Mezey, Jeremy Kipp Walker, Dan Carey, Elizabeth Giamatti, Andrij Parekh
/ Production Journeyman Pictures, Two Lane Pictures, Winner Arts Ltd., Touchy Feely Films, Memento Films, Arte France Cinema
/ Cast Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Dina Korzun
/ Contact Entertainment One Films International, Aerofilms
/ Distributor Aerofilms
Sophie Barthes was born in France and grew up in the Middle East and South America. She moved to New York in 2000 in order to study international relations and film at Columbia University. Three years later she graduated with a documentary film about UNICEF literacy programmes, which she worked on in Yemen with cinematographer Andrij Parekh. Together they subsequently made a short film in Ukraine entitled Snowblink (2004). In 2006 she wrote and directed the film Happiness, screened to critical acclaim at Montreal and Sundance, and at the Prague Shorts festival. Her feature film debut Cold Souls began its journey to the Sundance competition 2009 in the festival Institute’s Writers Lab and corresponding Directors Lab. Sophie Barthes was named one of Filmmaker magazine’s "25 New Faces of Independent Film” for the year 2007.
Entertainment One Films International
175 Bloor St. East, Suite 601, North Tower, M4W 3R8, Toronto
Canada
Phone: +1 416 646 2400
Fax: +1 416 979 5824
Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
Natalie Kampelmacher
Sophie Barthes
Film Director
Andrij Parekh
Director of Photography
Zuzana Pudilová
Distributor
Ivo Andrle
Distributor
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
