Waiting for the Barbarians

En attendant les barbares
Eugène Green

Six strangers confront their uniquely 21st century anxieties with the help of a sorcerer in this playful performance art consciousness-bender-cum-ghost story about the search for meaning in the age of social media.

DIRECTOR
Eugène Green
YEAR
2017
COUNTRY
France
RUNTIME
76 minutes
LANGUAGE
French with English subtitles
ORIGINAL TITLE
En attendant les barbares

Presented by Film Comment. Q&A with Eugène Green on March 13.

Six strangers—fleeing hordes of much-feared, but never-glimpsed barbarians—seek refuge in the ancient home of a sorcerer and sorceress. After being promptly asked to surrender their smartphones, the guests are treated to an alternately deadpan and philosophical odyssey involving magic, ghosts, painting, and an extended reenactment of an Arthurian romance as they confront their uniquely 21st-century insecurities and anxieties. Part playful performance art piece, part metaphysical consciousness-bender, Eugène Green’s entrancing, oddly life-affirming fable is a thought-provoking and slyly humorous exploration of the filmmaker’s ongoing concerns with Baroque traditions and the search for meaning in the age of social media. Produced as part of the Les Chantiers Nomades Spring 2017 “Waiting for the Barbarians” workshop. North American Premiere

Waiting for the Barbarians
Waiting for the Barbarians
Waiting for the Barbarians

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