Kino Lorber Swoops on Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Title ‘1976’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Holly Jones Following its world debut at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this May, Kino Lorber has snagged North American distribution rights to “1976,” a gripping Pinochet-era drama directed by Manuela Martelli.The film is the first feature for Martelli, produced by Chilean writer-directors Omar Zuniga (“The Strong Ones”) and Dominga Sotomayor (“Too Late to Die Young”) for Cinestación, Alejandra Garcia and writer-director Andres Wood (“Violeta Went to Heaven”) for Wood Producciones, and co-produced by Nathalia Videla Peña and Juan Pablo Gugliotta for Argentina’s Magma Cine.“1976” takes place in a small seaside town where Carmen (Aline Kuppenheim) reflects on her life as she transforms from a side-lined housewife into an integral caretaker.

Putting her sanity and the values of her peers on the line, she steps further into uncertainty by aiding a weary and wounded opponent to Pinochet’s regime, Elías (Nicolás Sepúlvda), at her priest’s request. “As the tone of Manuela Martelli’s masterful debut morphs from drama to thriller, it relentlessly draws audiences into lead character Carmen’s psyche in a chillingly experiential way,” Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell said in a statement.On the verge of losing her identity completely, Carmen grows increasingly numb to the mundane nature of bourgeois delight.

She slowly internalizes the misogyny and political unrest that have made her an increasingly sedentary fixture in her household and decides to stand boldly against the government-mandated cruelty, attempting to further assist the helpless young man.“Chile 1976” – the title by which the film will be released in North America – “explores political and social issues that remain quite relevant today, and though set in Pinochet’s Chile, we.