MUBI, the premier streaming service for curated films, has revealed its August lineup. To celebrate the 2020 edition of the Locarno Film Festival, which will take place virtually in August, MUBI is exclusively presenting a selection of highlights from the 2019 festival. The series will showcase festival hits including Echo, Rúnar Rúnarsson’s bittersweet portrait of modern society, and Anna Sofie Hartmann’s profound second feature film, Giraffe.
RELATED: Matthias & Maxime: Xavier Dolan’s Latest Title Releasing on MUBI This August
Next month’s slate will also include the exclusive online premiere of Matthias & Maxime, the long-awaited film from prolific Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan. Marking Dolan’s return to directing himself as an actor, the film is a quietly understated coming-of-age story as two long-time friends grapple with their sexualities. Also exclusively premiering on MUBI is Wonders in the Suburbs, a star-filled political comedy directed by extraordinary actress Jeanne Balibar (Cold War, Barbara).
In celebration of Lina Wertmüller’s 92nd birthday, MUBI is excited to present a selection of films that include some of her most polemical works. From Seduction of Mimi, a raucous sex comedy that brought her international fame, to the 1975 black comedy Seven Beauties which made her the first woman nominated for a Best Director Academy Award, this retrospective presentation pays tribute to Wertmüller’s groundbreaking career.
Additional programs of note include: Sweet Bean & Hot Pot: The Joys of Food, a flavorful double bill featuring Naomi Kawase’s Sweet Bean and Heiward Mark’s Fagara, as well as Portrait of the Artists, a new ongoing series featuring biographical films about great artists beginning with Joann Sfar’s Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, a biopic of French singer Serge Gainsbourg.
Matthias & Maxime — August 28
MUBI is proud to present the online premiere of Xavier Dolan’s Matthias & Maxime (Cannes ‘19), the latest from the precocious Québécois auteur. Dolan, who also stars in the film, once again brings his unique sensibility to this story of suppressed feelings and the turmoil they cause once they’re rekindled.
Wonders in the Suburbs — August 19
An eccentric directorial debut from actress Jeanne Balibar, Wonders in the Suburbs (Locarno ‘19) is a quintessentially French comedy. This star-filled, small-town farce brings the Parisian suburbs to life, while also playfully painting a bizarre snapshot of contemporary politics.
Anbessa — August 26
Mo Scarpelli’s magical realist documentary Anbessa (Berlin ‘19) centers on an Ethiopian boy named Asalif and his mother, both recently displaced by a newly built housing estate. A beautiful collaboration between subject and filmmaker, this intimate portrait subverts expectations and pushes the limits of nonfiction cinema.
Festival Focus: Locarno — Exclusive
With the 2020 special online edition of the Locarno Film Festival kicking off this month, MUBI will again exclusively present a selection of the most exciting titles from last year’s festival for the fifth consecutive year. This year’s spotlight includes festival favorites like Echo, Rúnar Rúnarsson’s beautifully shot portrait of Iceland during the Christmas season.
Echo — August 5
Giraffe — August 6
The Tree House — August 13
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Sweet Bean & Hot Pot: The Joys of Food
MUBI is excited to present this heartfelt double bill featuring two dramas that embrace the joys of food, family, and tradition. Japanese auteur Naomi Kawase’s feel-good hit Sweet Bean (Cannes ‘15) centers on a small dorayaki bakery on the outskirts of Tokyo, while Hong Kong filmmaker Heiward Mak’s Fagara (Busan ‘19) tells the story of three sisters who return to run their father’s hot pot restaurant after he passes.
Sweet Bean — August 7
Fagara — August 8
Lina Wertmüller
This August, MUBI celebrates Lina Wertmüller’s 92nd birthday and pays tribute to the legendary filmmaker who was the first woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. This series spotlights her incredible run of erotic and polemical films in the mid-1970s, which smashed US box office records for foreign language films and culminated with the provocative Seven Beauties, which earned her two Oscar nominations.
The Seduction of Mimi — August 14
Love and Anarchy — August 15
Swept Away — August 16
Seven Beauties — August 17
China Across Time: A Jia Zhange Double Bill
This double bill from the great 6th Generation Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke features two of his recent, essential portraits of modern China. This includes the epic and meditative Mountains May Depart (Cannes ‘15), which looks at shifts in Chinese society and values over 25 years, and the eccentric short The Hedonists(Locarno ‘16), which playfully juxtaposes China’s traditional past and its modern embrace of free-reign capitalism.
Mountains May Depart — August 22
The Hedonists — August 23
Gansbourg: A Heroic Life — August 29
MUBI will launch a new ongoing series dedicated to exceptional biographical films about great artists. French comic book artist Joann Sfar’s poetic portrait Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life begins the series. This innovative biopic-cum-musical on the life of enfant terrible Serge Gainsbourg shimmers with creativity.
