Starfuckers

The scouts

Director casts himself in a film called Starfuckers about film directors — the meta is so on the nose you can smell it through the screen. Sundance/Berlinale/Telluride likes their auteurs self-aware; I find them tiresome.

Marziale's Sundance-Berlinale-Telluride triple selection with Champs-Élysées Grand Jury Prize is decisive pedigree, and a director casting himself as a director in a film about directors named Starfuckers is the kind of self-aware Xavier Dolan move that either devastates or implodes. The festival map says it works.

Sundance, Berlinale, and Telluride trifecta plus Champs Élysées Grand Jury Prize at 15:30 — Antonio Marziale writing, directing, and starring is an auteurist gamble that festivals clearly cosigned. Production design by Angelica Vasquez and original score work suggests serious craft investment.

Festivals

• Sundance Film Festival 2023
• Berlinale 2023
• Telluride Film Festival 2023