The Congress

More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with The Princess Bride, an aging actress - Robin Wright - decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. Through a deal brokered by her loyal, longtime agent and the head of Miramount Studios, her alias will be controlled by the studio, and will star in any film they want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation so she can care for her ailing son and her digitized character will stay forever young. Twenty years later, under the creative vision of the studio’s head animator, Wright’s digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her contract expiring, she is invited to take part in “The Congress” convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future fantasy cinema. THE CONGRESS by Ari Folman (“Waltz with Bashir”) interweaves this topic with a cinematic and poetic aesthetic and a sharp-witted commentary on the effects of modern media technologies on identity and self-determination. Inspired by the visionary ideas of Stanislaw Lem, the supremacy of a huge Hollywood system is addressed – a system in which reality and digital fiction merge. Alongside the charismatic presence of Robin Wright, known from the films “The Princess Bride” and “Forrest Gump” and the series House of Cards, Harvey Keitel gives the film an additional dimension with the kind of surprising, intense performance he gave in films like “Reservoir Dogs”, “Pulp Fiction” and “Taxi Driver”.

Keywords

  • Adult Animation
  • Best Novels Adaptation
  • Best Novels Adaptation (home)
  • Cannes: Quinzaine des Cinéastes
  • European Film Awards
  • Festival de Cannes
  • Festival de Cannes - Tax Shelter
  • Film Fest Gent !
  • Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis
  • Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis (home)
  • Made with Luxembourg
  • Just released
  • drugs
  • family
  • technology
  • women

Actors

  • Kodi Smit-McPhee
  • Sarah Shahi
  • Robin Wright
  • Ed Corbin
  • Jörg Vincent Malotki
  • Harvey Keitel

Director

  • Ari Folman

Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantaisie


2h 3min


tous publics

EN


FR

NL

Israel
Luxembourg
United States
2012
A free adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel “The Futurological Congress”, by Ari Folman and starring Robin Wright and Harvey Keitel.

A free adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel “The Futurological Congress”, by Ari Folman and starring Robin Wright and Harvey Keitel.


More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with The Princess Bride, an aging actress - Robin Wright - decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. Through a deal brokered by her loyal, longtime agent and the head of Miramount Studios, her alias will be controlled by the studio, and will star in any film they want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation so she can care for her ailing son and her digitized character will stay forever young.


Twenty years later, under the creative vision of the studio’s head animator, Wright’s digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her contract expiring, she is invited to take part in “The Congress” convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future fantasy cinema.


THE CONGRESS by Ari Folman (“Waltz with Bashir”) interweaves this topic with a cinematic and poetic aesthetic and a sharp-witted commentary on the effects of modern media technologies on identity and self-determination. Inspired by the visionary ideas of Stanislaw Lem, the supremacy of a huge Hollywood system is addressed – a system in which reality and digital fiction merge.


Alongside the charismatic presence of Robin Wright, known from the films “The Princess Bride” and “Forrest Gump” and the series House of Cards, Harvey Keitel gives the film an additional dimension with the kind of surprising, intense performance he gave in films like “Reservoir Dogs”, “Pulp Fiction” and “Taxi Driver”.

Award
European Film Award

Festivals

Cast & Crew