How’s that for a theatrical window? “Memoria,” an art house drama starring Tilda Swinton and from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, will be released exclusively in cinemas for a theatrical run that will end…never.
No 90-day or 45-day window. Neon’s plan for “Memoria” is to give the film a “cinema only” release. They say it will play in theaters “forever,” so that presumably means don’t expect to watch the film at home or on streaming at any point.
But that’s not all. The film will launch in cinemas later this year as part of what Neon is calling a “never ending national tour.” “Memoria” will make its debut at the IFC Center in New York on Dec. 26 and only be available there for one week. After that, the film will then “travel” between city and city, theater by theater, week by week, one at a time and play for a limited engagement each a week long. And the idea is for the film’s tour to continue indefinitely.
“For ‘Memoria,’ cinema experience is crucial or maybe the only way. Let’s embrace the darkness and dream, one at a time,” director Weerasethakul said of the plan.
“’Memoria’ is the perfect film for this moment…Big cinema or bust…Throughout the universe, in perpetuity,” Tilda Swinton added about the experimental rollout.
Neon’s Tom Quinn said the only way, “to truly pay homage to this existential gem was to build a sort of traveling mecca of cinema that has the capacity to stop us in our tracks.”
“Memoria” was shot in Colombia and is Weerasethakul’s English-language and Spanish-language debut. The film premiered at Cannes earlier this year, co-winning the Jury Prize at the festival. And Colombia also made it official by naming it the country’s official submission to the Oscar race.
Tilda Swinton stars in “Memoria” alongside Jeanne Balibar, and Colombian star Elkin Diaz. The film was inspired by the Thai director’s own memories and expressions, all combined with a historical excavation of Latin America. The film lulls audiences in to almost a dreamlike state, as they settle in to follow Jessica, an expat in Bogota, who, after hearing a jarring sound at daybreak, begins experiencing a mysterious sensory syndrome while traversing the jungles of Colombia. In her search for the sounds’ origins she encounters both personal and collective ghosts in the surrounding landscapes.