“Mare’s Nest,” the latest feature from British artist and experimental filmmaker Ben Rivers (“Two Years at Sea,” “A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness,”) has been acquired for North America by Grasshopper Film.
The film had its world premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where it competed in the main competition and won the ecological Pardo Verde Prize. It went on to have its North American premiere earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival. The U.S. premiere will take place on Oct. 2 as the Centerpiece Selection in the Currents Section of the 63rd New York Film Festival.
“Mare’s Nest” follows Moon (Moon Guo Barker), who travels through a mysterious world free of adults. She meets a sage, and her translator, in a mountain hut, where she tries to understand what is happening. As per the synopsis: “She meets many others who show her different possibilities for living. She observes and moves on into an unknown future.”
“It’s a real pleasure to reunite with Ben, whose film ‘Two Years at Sea’ I had the privilege of releasing years ago,” commented Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film. “Ben Rivers is one of the most visionary and original voices in contemporary cinema and ‘Mare’s Nest’ is another remarkable work — mysterious, dreamlike, and quietly revelatory. We’re thrilled to bring it to audiences.”
Produced by Rivers and Andrea Queralt, with co-producers Aonan Yang, Andreas Mendritzki, and Fabrizio Polpettini, the film is a collaboration between Urth Films, 4A4 Productions, La Bête, Le Fresnoy, and GreenGround Productions. Rivers wrote the screenplay, which is based on Do DeLillo’s climate-focussed one-act play “The Word for Snow.”
The deal was negotiated by Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film with Fen Chen of Rediance.
