Neptune Frost – Opens June 17
Director: Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams Run Time: 105 min. Rating: Unrated Release Year: 2022 Language: Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Swahili, French w/English Subtitles; English
Tagline: Saul Williams & Anisia Uzeyman’s NEPTUNE FROST is a one-of-a-kind Afrofuturist musical about a hacking collective in Burundi who unite against an authoritarian coltan mining regime exploiting the region’s resources. An intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find themselves in the center of this conflict, in this unforgettable exploration of memory, the present, colonialism, and gender identitiy.
Synopsis: Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work, notably his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Co-directed with the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, the film takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region’s natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
Critic Quotes:
“The future of Black film. Pure cinematic power.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Visionary. A journey of visual ecstasy.” – Deadline
“A mesmerizing Afropunk odyssey hacking at the boundaries of gender, technology, and class.” – Polygon
“A percussive, transcendental Afrofuturist musical… sounds out with force and clarity.” – Little White Lies
“A sensory delight… bursting with life and ingenuity.” – Indiewire
“Hauntingly beautiful and deeply enigmatic.” – Variety
“A future cult classic in the making.” – Screen Anarchy
“A truly distinctive vision.” – Indiewire
“An anti-colonial call to arms, a sci-fi tale that looks at the future but is haunted by the past.” – MUBI Notebook
Showtimes:
Friday June 17, 2022: 12:00, 4:30
Saturday June 18, 2022: 1:15, 3:30, 6:00
Sunday June 19, 2022: 5:45, 8:00
Monday June 20, 2022: 1:00 *A special introduction by Dr. LaWana Richmond will precede the 1PM screening*, 3:15, 5:30, 7:45
Tuesday June 21, 2022: 1:00, 3:15, 5:30
Wednesday June 22, 2022: 1:00, 3:15, 5:30
Thursday June 23, 2022: 1:00, 3:15, 5:30, 7:45
Friday June 24, 2022: 6:05
Saturday June 25, 2022: 12:00
Monday June 27, 2022: 12:30
Tuesday June 28, 2022: 12:30
Wednesday June 29, 2022: 12:30
Thursday June 30, 2022: 3:05
Ticket Prices: $12 Regular / $10 Students & Seniors / $9 Members