In episodic flashbacks, director Virgil Vernier tells the story of the unknown victim from the perspective of security guards, cult members and vigilantes. The sun-drenched high-tech metropolis of Sophia Antipolis on the Côte d'Azur becomes the setting for an oppressive social portrait in which fear, loneliness and the desperate quest for belonging intermingle. A story unfolds between surveillance, spirituality and violence, questioning the memory of an artificial society and dissolving its historical anchoring. While the city is seen as a symbol of progress, behind the shiny facade lurks an abyss of disorientation and social alienation. The characters wander through a world in which technology and myth are inextricably linked, and the archaic returns to a modern space. SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize in the “Cineasti del presente” section. It was also screened at numerous international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival, where it was praised for its atmospheric density and visionary storytelling.
Drama
1h 38min
16
FR
EN
DE
The discovery of a woman's body in the retort city of Sophia Antipolis reveals the dystopian, dehumanized underbelly of the slick, technology hub.
In episodic flashbacks, director Virgil Vernier tells the story of the unknown victim from the perspective of security guards, cult members and vigilantes. The sun-drenched high-tech metropolis of Sophia Antipolis on the Côte d'Azur becomes the setting for an oppressive social portrait in which fear, loneliness and the desperate quest for belonging intermingle.
A story unfolds between surveillance, spirituality and violence, questioning the memory of an artificial society and dissolving its historical anchoring. While the city is seen as a symbol of progress, behind the shiny facade lurks an abyss of disorientation and social alienation. The characters wander through a world in which technology and myth are inextricably linked, and the archaic returns to a modern space.
SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize in the “Cineasti del presente” section. It was also screened at numerous international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival, where it was praised for its atmospheric density and visionary storytelling.