In what could be best described as a slideshow formatted collection of smartly composed frames moving from apocalyptic awe to a grounded retrogress, Kantarama Gahigiri‘s Terra Mater – Mother Land boldly goes where no human being aught to go. Adhering to issue-orientated cinema, the Swiss-Rwandan filmmaker offers some striking visuals but makes a poetically rendered argument for instrumental changes in big issue problem like waste management. With Neptune Frost actress Cheryl Isheja in electronic trash warrior garb, the short is a summation also invites several other artists to contribute to the visual and sound poetry and makes for an evocatively illustrated message film about the world’s disconnect with how we consume and larger issues such as capitalism, colonialism and environmental destruction in Africa.…...
- 2/10/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
In an uncertain world, cinema has chosen to look inwards. Perhaps there’s a dose of narcissism there. But so many of this year’s films have been propelled by natural, vulnerable impulses: to return home, to think back on youth, to reconsider art’s purpose. They’re present in James Gray’s autobiographical Armageddon Time, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s self-reflective Bardo, the dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin, and Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise. Even the biggest blockbusters, Top Gun: Maverick and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, seem weighted with self-reflection. My own favourite 15 films, all released in the UK over the past year, have each themselves proven that the medium still has the power to heal the soul.
15. Happening
Audrey Diwan’s Happening tore into cinemas this April on the back of an oracle’s cry. The film follows Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a student...
15. Happening
Audrey Diwan’s Happening tore into cinemas this April on the back of an oracle’s cry. The film follows Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a student...
- 12/5/2022
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
The revolutionary vision of “Neptune Frost” – a politically charged Afrofuturist musical odyssey where Neptune, an intersex runaway, becomes part of an insurgent collective – plays like a social justice dream. For its intrepid filmmakers, hip-hop artist Saul Williams and Rwandan playwright Anisia Uzeyman, the journey to bring their alternative world into reality took nearly a decade and required a band of like-minded artisans capable of translating the narrative’s activist roots into cinematic wonder. “Neptune Frost” isn’t merely a film. It’s an aesthetic statement of intent.
That declaration draws from more than your usual science fiction fare. The Arab spring, African Diaspora movements, centuries of music, and the present blossoming of the continent’s art all influence “Neptue Frost,” a film that fights against exploitation, colonialism, and anti-gay laws.
Following the death of their aunt, Neptune (Elvis “Bobo” Ngabo/Cheryl Isheja) flees from their Rwandan village, crossing bodies of...
That declaration draws from more than your usual science fiction fare. The Arab spring, African Diaspora movements, centuries of music, and the present blossoming of the continent’s art all influence “Neptue Frost,” a film that fights against exploitation, colonialism, and anti-gay laws.
Following the death of their aunt, Neptune (Elvis “Bobo” Ngabo/Cheryl Isheja) flees from their Rwandan village, crossing bodies of...
- 11/11/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
Transgressive revolutionaries in a dazzlingly inventive drama from Anisia Uzeyman and musician Saul Williams, set in an alternate Burundi
Black Panther 2 is imminent, but in many ways the extraordinary Neptune Frost is the real Afrofuturist deal: a transgressive socialist Wakanda with an exoskeleton of punk geopolitics bolted on. As well as a denunciation of the western techno-centric order, it’s a musical lesson in conscious collaboration between the developed and developing world that Hollywood could learn from – instead of just piggybacking on African aesthetics. Filmed in Rwanda but set in Burundi, the story was developed by US musician Saul Williams – drawing on material from his recent albums – and his Rwandan wife Anisia Uzeyman; they share the directorial credit.
A near-future alt.Burundi gets its own Ziggy Stardust: Neptune (Elvis Ngabo), a gaunt outcast who likes wearing high heels and wanders the countryside in search of “fourth dimensional libations”. Shepherded...
Black Panther 2 is imminent, but in many ways the extraordinary Neptune Frost is the real Afrofuturist deal: a transgressive socialist Wakanda with an exoskeleton of punk geopolitics bolted on. As well as a denunciation of the western techno-centric order, it’s a musical lesson in conscious collaboration between the developed and developing world that Hollywood could learn from – instead of just piggybacking on African aesthetics. Filmed in Rwanda but set in Burundi, the story was developed by US musician Saul Williams – drawing on material from his recent albums – and his Rwandan wife Anisia Uzeyman; they share the directorial credit.
A near-future alt.Burundi gets its own Ziggy Stardust: Neptune (Elvis Ngabo), a gaunt outcast who likes wearing high heels and wanders the countryside in search of “fourth dimensional libations”. Shepherded...
- 10/31/2022
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
The Afrofuturist musical is exec produced by Lin-Mauel Miranda.
UK distributor Anti-Worlds has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost from Kino Lorber. The film premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2021 and was nominated for the Queer Palm award.
Set in a Rwandan village made of computer parts, the sci-fi musical follows an intersex African hacker and a coltan miner who, along with their love child, trigger a revolution against the authoritarian regime. The cast is made up of newcomers Elvis Ngabo, Cheryl Isheja and Kaya Free.
The film will be...
UK distributor Anti-Worlds has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost from Kino Lorber. The film premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2021 and was nominated for the Queer Palm award.
Set in a Rwandan village made of computer parts, the sci-fi musical follows an intersex African hacker and a coltan miner who, along with their love child, trigger a revolution against the authoritarian regime. The cast is made up of newcomers Elvis Ngabo, Cheryl Isheja and Kaya Free.
The film will be...
- 8/3/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
One of the first songs we hear in Neptune Frost, Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s perceptive and unusual take on a musical, is a work song. It’s during an early scene set among a group of miners who are busy harvesting the raw materials that will make the technologies of other people from other countries possible. Soon, one of those miners dies — rather, he is killed using the butt of an overseer’s gun. That’s when the mourning starts, particularly from the dead man’s brother Matalusa...
- 6/15/2022
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
This review of “Neptune Frost” was first published on Jun 2, 2022, before it opened in New York City.
Behold one of the most extraordinarily original cinema experiences of the year: Pulsing with a revolutionary heart, “Neptune Frost,” from co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman (credited on screen as Swan), indicts the advent of technological advancements that thrive on ignoring the people whose suffering and displacement make those advancements possible.
Grounded on ancestral wisdom while innovative in its imagery, this Afrofuturistic musical flips off neocolonialism, manifested as labor exploitation and the extraction of resources to supply the world with digital communication; miners of coltan, a metal used in the creation of modern technology, are expendable for the capitalist powers of the world.
In this temporally undefined future, Burundi, an East African nation, exists under the rule of the Authority, a tyrannical government that suppresses student protests and manipulates the media to maintain...
Behold one of the most extraordinarily original cinema experiences of the year: Pulsing with a revolutionary heart, “Neptune Frost,” from co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman (credited on screen as Swan), indicts the advent of technological advancements that thrive on ignoring the people whose suffering and displacement make those advancements possible.
Grounded on ancestral wisdom while innovative in its imagery, this Afrofuturistic musical flips off neocolonialism, manifested as labor exploitation and the extraction of resources to supply the world with digital communication; miners of coltan, a metal used in the creation of modern technology, are expendable for the capitalist powers of the world.
In this temporally undefined future, Burundi, an East African nation, exists under the rule of the Authority, a tyrannical government that suppresses student protests and manipulates the media to maintain...
- 6/9/2022
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Indie distributors, grabbing a frame between Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion, are out with a handful of decently wide releases for the specialty space including Neon’s Cannes title Crimes of the Future (127 screes), IFC Midnight thriller Watcher (764) and Roadside Attractions’ WWI period piece Benediction (87). Sony Pictures Classics launches Phantom of the Open in four theaters in NY and LA.
Netflix is taking Hustle to 275 screens as the industry looks for signs that big streamers are warming to theatrical.
Yash Raj Films opens historical Bollywood epic Prithviraj in over 400 theaters as the steady flow of Indian fare remains a bulwark for U.S. cinemas.
The David Cronenberg written and directed dystopian sci-fi body-parts drama Crimes of the Future with Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart debuts fresh off a six-minute standing ovation in Cannes, As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, bodies undergoes transformations and mutation.
Netflix is taking Hustle to 275 screens as the industry looks for signs that big streamers are warming to theatrical.
Yash Raj Films opens historical Bollywood epic Prithviraj in over 400 theaters as the steady flow of Indian fare remains a bulwark for U.S. cinemas.
The David Cronenberg written and directed dystopian sci-fi body-parts drama Crimes of the Future with Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart debuts fresh off a six-minute standing ovation in Cannes, As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, bodies undergoes transformations and mutation.
- 6/3/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
"One just algorithm. One little Black girl algorithm brings it to life." Kino Lorber has unveiled an official US trailer for the acclaimed, one-of-a-kind creation from Africa called Neptune Frost - a must watch film for anyone that is a fan of international cinema. This premiered at last year's 2021 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar, and it also played at the Toronto, New York, London, and Sundance Film Festivals. Neptune Frost is the love story between an African intersex runaway and a coltan miner, and the virtual marvel born as a result of their union. The anti-capitalist, anti-colonialist feature is a radical, neon-drenched techno musical creation unlike any other, utilizing old parts and various found items as props and costume pieces. The film features Cheryl Isheja, Bertrand Ninteretse, Eliane Umuhire, and Dorcy Rugamba. I saw this last year and proclaimed it to be an instant cult classic, raving...
- 5/4/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Hauntingly beautiful and deeply enigmatic, “Neptune Frost” has enjoyed perhaps the most coveted festival run of 2021. Blending science fiction, dance and allegorical elements, the striking Afrofuturist feature debuted at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It has since been invited to screen at some of the top showcases: Toronto, New York, London, Sundance, Rotterdam and Gothenburg — all venues where African cinema, especially experimental, formally ambitious work, remains relatively uncommon.
The opening scenes of this curious film hint at the poetic paths it intends to take. Past and future, dreams and realities, mourning and possibility, death and other dimensions comprise the terrain. And if you think that sounds vague or thrilling or frustrating, you’d be right on all counts. Directed by Saul Williams and his partner Anisia Uzeyman, this debut feature rebuffs the easy comforts of storytelling.
Shot and set in Rwanda, “Neptune Frost” takes on war, capitalism, identity and liberation. It begins with an unseen narrator.
The opening scenes of this curious film hint at the poetic paths it intends to take. Past and future, dreams and realities, mourning and possibility, death and other dimensions comprise the terrain. And if you think that sounds vague or thrilling or frustrating, you’d be right on all counts. Directed by Saul Williams and his partner Anisia Uzeyman, this debut feature rebuffs the easy comforts of storytelling.
Shot and set in Rwanda, “Neptune Frost” takes on war, capitalism, identity and liberation. It begins with an unseen narrator.
- 2/5/2022
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
Directors Anisia Uzeyman and multi-talented Saul Williams deep dive into Afro-Futurism with the new film Neptune Frost. The film first premiered at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, was an official selection at the Toronto Film Festival, and now at the New York Film Festival. Frost is a bold story about how the power of music, technology and dreams can profoundly impact human connection. The sensual visuals, coupled with an anti-capitalist theme that is somewhat bleak, this is a film about finding happiness in community and embracing the future.
Set in Rwanda, this cyber-musical follows Matalusa (Bertrand Ninteretse), a poverty-stricken miner, and an intersex hacker, Neptune (played by Elivs Ngabo and Cheryl Isheja), and who find one another through cyberspace. Their chemistry is instant, and love emancipates them from the physical and internal struggle they face. Williams creates a tender dynamic between the two characters. Witnessing Black joy in cinema isn...
Set in Rwanda, this cyber-musical follows Matalusa (Bertrand Ninteretse), a poverty-stricken miner, and an intersex hacker, Neptune (played by Elivs Ngabo and Cheryl Isheja), and who find one another through cyberspace. Their chemistry is instant, and love emancipates them from the physical and internal struggle they face. Williams creates a tender dynamic between the two characters. Witnessing Black joy in cinema isn...
- 10/12/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
With his directorial debut, poet-musician-actor Saul Williams has no desire to hold back. Neptune Frost, a technology-focused musical set in Rwanda co-directed with Anisia Uzeyman, sees Williams put all of his previous artistic efforts into an unfocused, wholly singular work, one with splashy producers like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ezra Miller. Following the intense, dream-induced connection of a coltan miner, Matalusa (Bertrand “Kaya Free” Ninteretse), and intersex, on-the-run hacker Neptune (both Cheryl Isheja and Elvis Ngabo), Neptune Frost has ideas to spare, pursuing all in the form an anti-capitalist, pro-connectivity movement.
Beginning as a Kickstarter project that raised nearly $200,000 from 1,500 backers, the film wants to galvanize and embrace its characters and viewers. It has an appetite for justice, communion, and change in the farthest-reaching of places. In this case that’s a makeshift village constructed by technological scraps, existing amidst a never-ending war. Matalusa, mourning the death of his brother at the mines,...
Beginning as a Kickstarter project that raised nearly $200,000 from 1,500 backers, the film wants to galvanize and embrace its characters and viewers. It has an appetite for justice, communion, and change in the farthest-reaching of places. In this case that’s a makeshift village constructed by technological scraps, existing amidst a never-ending war. Matalusa, mourning the death of his brother at the mines,...
- 9/29/2021
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Saul Williams’ latest endeavor is the multi-pronged “MartyrLoserKing Project,” which focuses the musician, poet, writer, actor, and director’s insights and talents on an ambitious idea that unfolds over three record albums, a graphic novel, and now a film, co-directed with wife and creative partner Anisia Uzeyman, titled “Neptune Frost.” Making its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the curio science-fiction musical is arguably less about a specific story, and is more laudable for its representation of a point of view seldom expressed, and in a manner rarely experienced in cinema.
“Because of the social and global issues flooding my actual and virtual timelines, and their countless intersections, as well as the many discussions of those issues, it was important that I fused and fueled all of my creative interests into one story,” Williams said of his directorial debut. “I wanted to find a way to talk about everything at once,...
“Because of the social and global issues flooding my actual and virtual timelines, and their countless intersections, as well as the many discussions of those issues, it was important that I fused and fueled all of my creative interests into one story,” Williams said of his directorial debut. “I wanted to find a way to talk about everything at once,...
- 7/17/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
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