Neptune Frost
Directed by Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman
Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work, notably his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Co-directed with the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, the film takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region's natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
Reviews
“Critic’s Pick! Mind-bending. An Afrofuturist fantasia that is also a musical, a science-fiction parable and a hacker manifesto.”
“The future of Black film. Pure cinematic power.”
“One of the most extraordinarily original cinema experiences of the year.”
“A mesmerizing Afropunk odyssey hacking at the boundaries of gender, technology, and class.”
"A queer, anarchic, and optimistic vision of the future.”
“Visionary. A journey of visual ecstasy.”
“A percussive, transcendental Afrofuturist musical… sounds out with force and clarity.”
“A sensory delight… bursting with life and ingenuity.”
“Hauntingly beautiful and deeply enigmatic.”
“A future cult classic in the making."
“A truly distinctive vision.”
"An anti-colonial call to arms, a sci-fi tale that looks at the future but is haunted by the past."
Awards
Official Selection – Cannes Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight)
Official Selection – Sundance Film Festival
Official Selection – Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection – New York Film Festival
Official Selection – AFI Fest
Official Selection – International Film Festival Rotterdam
Official Selection – San Francisco International Film Festival
