Metrograph

Zar Amir stars opposite Portrait of a Lady on Fire’s Luàna Bajrami in Singh and Musteata’s audacious mid-length tragicomedy. Narrated by Vicky Krieps and shot in strikingly stark black and white, it sets its scene in a world where kisses are punishable by death and slaps to the face are a regular part of social intercourse. In this dystopia, unhappily married Angine (Amir) finds herself flirting with catastrophe as her deepening infatuation with salesgirl Malaise (Bajrami) threatens to put both of them in danger of terrible reprisals. A small miracle of narrative compression and tonal balance, now being adapted by its directors into a full-length feature after premiering at Telluride and enjoying a lauded festival run.

Q&A with Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh and Zar Amir moderated by Columbia University Professor Annette Insdorf on Saturday, September 27th