May 25th 2018

Zama

A film by Lucrecia Martel

2018Also on disc & on demand

Synopsis

Lucrecia Martel's first film in 10 years premiered in Venice 2017 to huge acclaim.

Zama, an officer of the Spanish Crown born in South America, waits for a letter from the King granting him a transfer from the town in which he is, to a better place. His situation is delicate. He must ensure that nothing overshadows his transfer. He is forced to accept submissively every task entrusted to him by successive Governors who come and go as he stays behind.

The years go by and the letter from the King never arrives. When Zama notices everything is lost, he joins a party of soldiers that go after a dangerous bandit.

It is adapted from Antonio di Benedetto’s 1956 classic of Argentine literature, recently published by the New York Review of Books - and available to buy here. New Wave Films also released Lucrecia Martel's previous film, The Headless Woman (La Mujer sin Cabeza).

Where It's On

Preview screening with a Q&A with Lucrecia Martel May 22nd BFI Southbank
Preview only May 24th ICA Cinema

Week Commencing 25th May (Also on Curzon Home Cinema , BFI Player and Sky Store )

BFI Southbank	Belvedere Rd	London SE1 8XT	020 7298 3232	all week
ICA Cinema	The Mall	London SW1Y 5AH	020 7930 3647	all week
Curzon Soho	99 Shaftesbury Ave	London W1D 5DY	0333 321 0104	all week
Curzon Bloomsbury	Brunswick Centre	London WC1N 1AW	0333 321 0104	all week
Gate Notting Hill	Notting Hill Gate	London, W11 3JZ	0871 902 5731	all week
Home	2 Tony Wilson Place	Manchester M15 4FN	0161 200 1500	all week
Barbican Cinema	Beech St	London EC2Y 8DS	020 7638 8891	all week
Showroom	15 Paternoster Row	Sheffield S1 2BX	0114 275 7727	all week
Watershed	1 Canons Road	Bristol BS1 5TX	0117 927 5100	all week
Arts Picturehouse	38/39 St Andrews St	Cambridge CB2 3AR	0871 902 5720	all week
Tyneside Cinema	10 Pilgrim St	Newcastle NE1 6QG	0191 227 5500	all week
GFT	12 Rose St	Glasgow G3 6RB	0141 332 6535	all week
IFI	6 Eustace St	Dublin 2	1 679 3477	all week
Queens Film Theatre	20 University Square	Belfast BT7 1PA	028 9097 1097	all week

Week Commencing 1st June (Also on Curzon Home Cinema , BFI Player and Sky Store )

BFI Southbank	Belvedere Rd	London SE1 8XT	020 7298 3232	all week
ICA Cinema	The Mall	London SW1Y 5AH	020 7930 3647	all week
Curzon Bloomsbury	Brunswick Centre	London WC1N 1AW	0333 321 0104	all week
Gate Notting Hill	Notting Hill Gate	London W11 3JZ	0871 902 5731	selected
Watershed	1 Canons Road	Bristol BS1 5TX	0117 927 5100	all week
Home	2 Tony Wilson Place	Manchester M15 4FN	0161 200 1500	all week
Arts Picturehouse	38/39 St Andrews St	Cambridge CB2 3AR	0871 902 5720	selected
Barbican Cinema	Beech St	London EC2Y 8DS	020 7638 8891	3/4 June
Tyneside Cinema	10 Pilgrim St	Newcastle NE1 6QG	0191 227 5500	all week
Phoenix Picturehouse	57 Walton St	Oxford OX2 6AE	0871 902 5736	all week
Picturehouse at FACT	88 Wood St	Liverpool L1 4DQ	0871 902 5737	all week

Week Commencing 8th June (Also on Curzon Home Cinema , BFI Player and Sky Store )

Curzon Bloomsbury	Brunswick Centre	London WC1N 1AW	0333 321 0104	all week
ICA Cinema	The Mall	London SW1Y 5AH	020 7930 3647	8,10,13,14/6
Home	2 Tony Wilson Place	Manchester M15 4FN	0161 200 1500	8,9,12,13,14/6
Lexi Cinema	194b Chamberlayne Rd	London NW10 3JU	020 3011 5523	8,9,11,13 June
Phoenix East Finchley	52 High Rd	London N2 9PJ	020 8444 6789	all week
Chichester Cinema	New Park Rd	Chichester PO19 7XY	01243 786650	all week
Broadway	14-18 Broad St	Nottingham NG1 3AL	0115 952 6611	all week
Tyneside Cinema	10 Pilgrim St	Newcastle NE1 6QG	0191 227 5500	all week
Phoenix	4 Midland St	Leicester LE1 1TG	0116 242 2800	8 - 11 June
Depot	Pinwell Rd	Lewes BN7 2JS	01273 525354	all week
Olympic Studios	117-123 Church Rd, Barnes	London SW14 9HL	020 8912 5161	10,13.14/6
Arthouse	159a Tottenham Lane	London N8 9BT	020 8245 3099	10 June only
Guildhall	23 Eastgate St	Gloucester GL1 1NS	01452 503050	all week
Exeter Phoenix	Gandy St	Exeter EX4 3LS	01392 667080	10,13 June
Little Theatre	St Michael's Place	Bath BA1 1SG	0871 902 5735	13 June only
Picturehouse Discover Tuesday	around the country	Bradford, Brighton, Cameo Edinburgh, Exeter, Norwich, York, Southampton,Oxford		12 June
Picturehouse Discover Tuesday	London Venues:	East Dulwich, Crouch End, Greenwich, Hackney, Picturehouse Central, Ritzy, Clapham, Stratford East		12 June

Week Commencing 15th June (Also on Curzon Home Cinema , BFI Player and Sky Store )

Curzon Bloomsbury	Brunswick Centre	London WC1N 1AW	0333 321 0104	all week
ICA Cinema	The Mall	London SW1Y 5AH	020 7930 3647	16 June
Eden Court	Bishops Rd	Inverness IV3 5SA	01463 234234	all week
Quad Cinema	Market Place	Derby DE1 3AS	01332 290606	15-18 June
DCA	152 Nethergate	Dundee DD1 4DY	01382 909900	all week
Barn Cinema	Dartington Hall	Totnes TQ9 6EL	01803 847000	19,20 June
Hyde Park Picture House	73 Brudenell Rd	Leeds LS6 1JD	0113 275 2045	17,20 June
Errol Flynn	Derngate	Northampton NN1 1TU	01604 624811	18,20 June
Star & Shadow Cinema	Warwick St	Newcastle NE2 1BB	0191 261 0666	16,24 June
Dukes	Moor Lane	Lancaster LA1 1QE	01524 598500	18,19 June
Cube	Dove St South	Bristol BS2 8JD	0117 907 4190	17-20 June

Week Commencing 22nd June (Also on Curzon Home Cinema, BFI Player

Curzon Bloomsbury	Brunswick Centre	London WC1N 1AW	0333 321 0104	all week
ICA Cinema	The Mall	London SW1Y 5AH	020 7930 3647	22-24 June
Star & Shadow Cinema	Warwick St	Newcastle NE2 1BB	0191 261 0666	24 June
Strode Theatre	Church Rd	Street BA16 0AB	01458 442846	28 June
Roses Theatre	Sun St	Tewkesbury GL20 5NX	01684 295074	26/27 June

Week Commencing 29th June (Also on Curzon Home Cinema, BFI Player

Palace Cinema	Harbour St	Broadstairs CT10 1ET	01843 865726	30/6, 3/7, 5/7
Trinity	Church Rd	Tunbridge Wells TN1 1JP	01892 678678	5 July
Mareel	North Ness	Lerwick ZE1 0WQ	01595 745500	1 & 4 July
Whirled Cinema	259/260 Hardess Rd	Loughborough Junct. SE24 0HN	020 7737 6153	4 & 8 July
ICA Cinema	The Mall	London SW1Y 5AH	020 7930 3647	30 June only

Week Commencing 6th July

Filmhouse	88 Lothian Rd	Edinburgh EH1 9BZ	0131 228 2688	6 - 9 July
MAC	Cannon Hill Park	Birmingham B12 9QH	0121 446 3232	8 - 11 July
Ultimate Pic. Palace	Jeune St	Oxford OX4 1BN	01865 245288	from 6 July
Whirled Cinema	259/260 Hardess Rd	Loughborough Junct. SE24 0HN	020 7737 6153	8 July
Filmhouse	23-31 The Coombe	Newlyn TR18 5HS	01736 332222	9 July

Week Commencing 13th July

Rex Cinema	High St	Berkhamsted HP4 2FG	01422 877759	16 July
Firstsite	Lewis Gardens	Colchester CO1 1JH	01296 713700	17 July

Week Commencing 20th July

Nordern Farm

Altwood Rd

Maidenhead SL6 4PF

01628 788997

22/23 July

Trailer

Director — Lucrecia Martel

Born in 1966, Martel studied animation at Avellaneda Experimental (AVEX), attended the National Experimentation Filmmaking School (ENERC) for several years, and studied Communication Science. She directed a number of short films between 1988 and 1994, including Rey Muerto (Dead King), when was part of Historías Breves I (Brief Tales I). In 2001, Martel directed the film La Ciénaga (The Swamp), which won awards in Berlin, Havana, Toulouse, and Sundance, among other festivals. In 2004, Martel wrote and directed La Niña Santa (The Holy Girl), which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival that year. In 2008 came The Headless Woman (La Mujer sin Cabazo), and now after a long interval, Zama, which premiered in the 2017 Venice Film Festival.

Filmography

2018: Zama

2007: The Headless Woman (La Mujer sin Cabeza)

2004: The Holy Girl (La Niña Santa)

2001: The Swamp (La Ciénaga)

1995: Rey Muerto, short

Cast & Credits

Production
Director & screenwriter	Lucrecia Martel
Cinematographer	Rui Poças
Editors	Miguel Schverdfinger, Karen Harley
Sound	Guido Berenblum
Production Designer	Renata Pinheiro
Costume Designer	Julio Suarez
Sound Designer	Guido Berenblum (ASA)
Sound Mixer	Emmanuel Croset
Make-up	Marisa Menta
Hairstyling	Alberto Moccia
Casting	Verónica Souto, Natalia Smirnoff
Assistant Director	Fabiana Tiscornia
Music	Los Indios Tabajaras
Line Producer	Javier Leoz
Executive Producers	Pablo Cruz, Gael García Bernal,
	Diego Luna, Angelisa Stein
Associate Producers	Guillermo Kuitca, Juan Manuel Collado,
	Fabiana Tiscornia, Elvira González Fraga, Alejandro Musich,
	Gonzalo Rodríguez Bubis, Julia Solomonoff
Co-Producers	Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García,
	Marie-Pierre Macia, Claire Gadéa, Juan Pablo Galli,
	Juan Vera, Alejandro Cacetta, Eva Eisenloeffel,
	Leontine Petit, Joost de Vries, Michel Merkt,
	Luís Urbano, Georges Schoucair, Joslyn Barnes,
	Danny Glover, Susan Rockefeller, Juan Perdomo, Natalia Meta
Producers	Benjamin Domenech, Santiago Gallelli,
	Matías Roveda, Vania Catani
Co-production Companies	El Deseo, Patagonik, MPM Film, Canana, Lemming Film,
	KNM, O Som e a Fúria, Louverture Films, Schortcut Films,
	Telecine, Bertha Foundation, Perdomo Productions,
	Picnic Producciones, Punta Colorada de Cinema
Production Company	Rei Cine, Bananeira Filmes
CAST
Don Diego de Zama	Daniel Giménez Cacho
Luciana Piñares de Luenga	Lola Dueñas
Vicuña Porto	Matheus Nachtergaele
Ventura Prieto	Juan Minujín
Malemba	Mariana Nunes
Fernandez	Nahuel Cano
Capitan Parrilla	Rafael Spregelburd
2017
Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France, Netherlands,
Mexico, Portugal, USA
115 mins
1:1.78, 2K, 5.1
Certificate 15

Images

Click any still to enlarge

The Critics

★★★★★

'In Lucrecia Martel’s magnificent drama, a Spanish officer stuck at a remote South American outpost numbs his burgeoning panic with erotic reveries…It’s a film that returns Martel to her themes of guilt, sex and shame – her first picture, in fact, since the enigmatic The Headless Woman 10 years ago. But Zama, with its eerie andante tempo and period setting, gives her ideas a new exalted platform, a new theatrical and formal grandeur.'

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

★★★★★

"Martel is back, after a nine-year absence, with the astonishing Zama"

Xan Brooks, The Guardian

"A cinematic marvel."

Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

★★★★★

Hard to suppress the hyperbole with this one. Truly an awesome achievement...Lucrecia Martel’s tale of colonial misadventure in South America is one of the great cinematic achievements of the decade.

David Jenkins, Little White Lies

★★★★★

"A beguiling, haunting, comic indictment of the ills of colonialism."

Matthew Anderson, CineVue

★★★★

'Lucrecia Martel’s startling, highly original new feature, Zama...a film that continually surprises us with both its brutality and its lyricism.'

Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent

'Astonishing.'

Ryan Gilbey, The New Statesman

★★★★

'Lucrecia Martel, the single most acclaimed filmmaker of Argentina’s New Wave, and a maker of taxing, sly, formally adventurous cinema not quite like anyone else’s… an absurd, ruthlessly funny take on empire.'

Tim Robey, The Daily Telegraph

'Zama confounds easy interpretation and on my second viewing I feel there’s still much to discover about this sumptuous, emotionally reverberant drama. It’s a thrillingly layered film, and is perhaps best experienced by surrendering to its intoxicating strangeness.'

Ed Lawrenson, The Big Issue

★★★★

Ten years ago Martel made a dreamy thriller called The Headless Woman that made delicate sense of Argentina’s brutal pecking order. She shows the same finesse here. She disorientates us with her sound design, she beguiles us with one of the most evocative soundtracks of the year. Music from Brazilian duo Los Indios Tabajaras playfully reminds us that a tropical paradise is never what it seems…where the film is intentionally vague, the music is precise. Civilisation is corrupt to its core.

Charlotte O'Sullivan, The Standard

★★★★

Martel is more interested in reappraising how we recall colonialism’s on-the-ground failings and the traces of colonial violence that make the film’s indigenous characters (and in one mirage-like scene, a llama) behave in weird, subtle ways, her gaze itself a vivid, drily funny act of decolonisation.

Simran Hans, The Observer

★★★★

'Exhilarating in its rich textures and heady strangeness.'

Edward Porter, The Sunday Times

Lucrecia Martel’s masterly adaptation of Antonio di Benedetto’s 1956 novel maroons Daniel Giménez Cacho’s preening officer of the Spanish empire in an Argentine backwater, then turns the screw.

Maria Delgado, Sight & Sound

"Intoxicating, spellbinding – and one of the best movies of the year…a slow-burn masterpiece."

David Fear, Rolling Stone

"A dizzying, sensory head trip."

Devika Girish, Village Voice

"This isn’t just a movie but a full-on miasma — a humid, atmospheric vision of a complex world conjured from the inside."

Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times

"Had it been suggested to Di Benedetto in 1976, during his eighteen-month nightmare in the dungeons of state terror, that a ten-year-old girl in Salta would one day transform his first novel into an intoxicating and internationally-acclaimed film that confirmed and magnified its subtlest insights, he might have dismissed the scenario as pure science fiction."

Esther Allen, The New York Review of Books

"The finest film of 2018 so far."

K. Austin Collins, Vanity Fair

"This is one of the most atmospheric and transporting films I've seen all year, and also one of the best."

Justin Chang, National Public Radio

'Lucinda Martel: A Director Who Confounds and Thrills'

J.Hoberman, Interview, The New York Times

"Beautiful, hypnotic, mysterious and elliptical, “Zama” is a story about a man at odds with a world that he struggles to dominate, which becomes a lacerating, often surprisingly comic evisceration of colonialism and patriarchy."

Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Links

Download Pressbook

Download set of 8 photos
Download UK quad poster high res jpg

Trailer: Download Pro Res version

Trailer on Vimeo (mp4 can be downloaded), on YouTube (can be embedded)

Interview with Lucrecia Martel BFI website

Interview with Lucrecia Martel at the New York Film Festival (Video)

New interview with Lucrecia Martel in The New York Times

Interviews with Lucrecia Martel in the Huffington Post, Film Comment, Mubi Notebook
Interview with Lucrecia Martel in The New York Times
Article on Zama the book and the film by Esther Allen (translator of the book)in the New York Review of Books

Interview with Lucrecia Martel by E. Nina Rothe

Location interview with Lucrecia Martel from Sight & Sound

Article on Lucrecia Martel in Vogue (US)

Dennis Lim on Lucrecia Martel

Article on Lucrecia Martel in Artforum

Primer on Lucrecia Martel from the BFI

Download Venice Press book

Bookings & Press

For film bookings please contact Colin Burch at Verve Pictures — [email protected]. Press resources are on the Press page.