War Pony

Source: Felix Culpa

‘War Pony’

Cannes award winners Aftersun and War Pony are among the 13 features playing in competition at this year’s Deauville American Film Festival, with eight titles from first- time directors.

The festival will take up residence once again in the resort of Deauville on France’s Normandy coast, from September 2-11.

Cannes Critics Week award winner Aftersun is enjoying a strong run on the festival circuit, having also played at Munich International Film Festival, and is set to open Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 12. The US-UK co-production is UK filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ debut, and stars Paul Mescal alongside newcomer Frankie Corio. It follows a woman as she reflects on her relationship with her father by watching home video footage of a holiday they took 20 years before.

Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s Cannes Camera d’Or winner War Pony is also competing at Deauville. Keough and Gammell’s debut is inspired by true events, and follows two boys living in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, as they face the harsh realities of adulthood.

“This edition’s filmmakers, many making their feature debuts, aspire to provide an artistic answer to questions posed by the world,” said festival direct  Bruno Barde. “Interrogating the future, their cameras examine childhood and youth with troubling and moving acuity, making a recurring theme out of the passage into adulthood.”

In 2021, French filmmaker Diego Ongaro’s Down With the King was awarded the grand prize, about a famous rapper who moves to a small-town farming community.

Deauville 2022 competition line-up: 

*denotes debut film

1-800-Hot-Nite
Dir. Nick Richey

Aftersun*
Dir. Charlotte Wells

Dual
Dir. Riley Stearns

Emily The Criminal*
Dir. John Patton Ford

Montana Story
Dirs. Scott McGehee, David Siegel

Over/Under*
Dir. Sophia Silver

Palm Trees And Power Lines*
Dir. Jamie Dack

Peace In The Valley
Dir. Tyler Riggs

Scrap*
Dir. Vivian Kerr

Stay Awake*
Dir. Jamie Sisley

The Silent Twins
Dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska

War Pony*
Dirs. Gina Gammell, Riley Keough

Watcher*
Dir. Chloe Okuno