Now underway in northern Italy, the Torino Film Festival is one of the most well-curated international events on the cinematic calendar and one world premiere on our radar is the new feature from Mitch Blummer (Idiotarod, To Be Twice at Once) and Christopher Jason Bell (The Winds That Scatter, The City Is Like a Character in the Film). Failed State, starring Dale Smith, follows our lead character as he spends the majority of his time transporting various goods to people while attempting to carve out a social life in-between. Eventually the weight of work, his declining health, and decaying social relations become too heavy to bear. Ahead of the world premiere this weekend, we’re delighted to exclusively premiere the trailer.
“Many things were on our mind even before 2020 had hit,” the directors said. “The pandemic exacerbated problems and heightened contradictions that were already on the tipping point. After working with Dale on previous shorts, we decided to make another small project but much bigger in scope. We followed Dale on his real job as a freelance messenger and built a story around him, adding a cast of characters pulled from all of our experiences. Dale is overworked and doesn’t have a choice in the matter, but he makes a point to carve out a fruitful, meaningful life in between gigs. Explored is what happens when the exploitation of labor is well past what is unacceptable.”
Watch the exclusive trailer below for the film also starring Richard Gilbert, Melissa Rocha, David Hayter, Roman Wevugira, Mohammad Dagman, Michelle Michalko, Jack Sullivan, Patrick Almonor, and David Oks.
