I've been writing about Mexican cannibal film We Are What We Are (Somos Lo Que Hay) since I first saw it in Guadalajara and with the picture about to premiere in Cannes as part of the Directors Fortnight lineup, I'm not about to stop any time soon.
I said at the time that the film was my favorite of the year so far, an opinion that I still hold to today. Though the tone and look are quite different, We Are What We Are draws comparisons to Let The Right One In for the way it balances realistic character drama with the genre elements - i.e. don't expect a splatter fest right off the top, because there isn't one - to become a slow burner that really sticks with you for days after the fact. Here's how sales agents The Wild Bunch describe it:
A middle-aged man dies in the street, leaving his widow and three children destitute. The devastated family is confronted not only with his loss but with a terrible challenge - how to survive. For they are cannibals. They have always existed on a diet of human flesh consumed in bloody ritual ceremonies... and the victims have always been provided by the father. Now that he is gone, who will hunt? Who will lead them? How will they slake their horrific hunger? The task falls to the eldest son, Alfredo, a teenage misfit who seems far from ready to accept the challenge... But without human meat the family will die.
Shocking, bloody and deeply moving, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is a remarkable reinvention of the horror genre - a visceral and powerfully emotional portrait of a family bound by a terrible secret hunger and driven by monstrous appetites.
Well, ever since seeing the film I've been aching for the chance to actually show it to you rather than just telling you about it and that chance is coming. Keep an eye on Twitch, kids, because I've just had word that the trailer is on its way (as in literally on its way) and we will have the premiere of it for you shortly.
More from Somos Lo Que Hay
- Reviews: WE ARE WHAT WE ARE Review
- News: US Poster, Trailer And Three Clips For Fantastic Fest Winner WE ARE WHAT WE ARE
- News: Stellar UK Trailer For Fantastic Fest Winner WE ARE WHAT WE ARE
- Reviews: Fantastic Fest 2010: SOMOS LO QUE HAY (WE ARE WHAT WE ARE) Review
- Reviews: Frightfest 2010: WE ARE WHAT WE ARE review
- Reviews: Fantasia 2010: WE ARE WHAT WE ARE Review
- News: Cannes 2010: Mexican Cannibal Drama WE ARE WHAT WE ARE Goes To IFC
- Reviews: Cannes 2010: SOMOS LO QUE HAY (WE ARE WHAT WE ARE) Review
- News: Cannes 2010: An Exclusive First Look At The Trailer For Mexican Cannibal Drama WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (SOMOS LO QUE HAY)
- News: Cannes 2010: Fresh Images From Mexican Cannibal Thriller SOMOS LO QUE HAY (WE ARE WHAT WE ARE)
- News: Meet The Family From Mexican Cannibal Thriller SOMOS LO QUE HAY
- Galleries: Somos Lo Que Hay
You think there's anything we get this at Fantasia, Todd?
I meant "any chance", of course.
It's definitely on the list of stuff we're pursuing but Cannes titles are always tough because Cannes is so tight against our lock deadline and most films that screen in Cannes want to wait to hear from Toronto about doing the North American premiere there. Toronto insists (typically) on North American premiere so anybody that thinks they've got what it takes to make the cut there generally won't commit to anything in Canada that comes before. We're trying, though ...
It's more chaos than secrecy, honestly. There is so much stuff in play at all times and things can change very quickly, so it's just best not to talk about stuff until things are 100% solid. Nothing worse than announcing something and getting people's hopes up just to lose it. There are a lot of politics and hierarchy involved in the festival world, a lot of banging on doors and building relationships and calling in favors to get what you want, but basically at Fantasia we just build a massive list of potential targets then play divide and conquer with everybody on the team taking the titles they think they have the best shot of getting. The we just gather up screeners like mad, go to as many markets as possible, watch shitloads of movies, prioritize them based on which are the best and which audiences want to see the most (not always the same thing) and try to book them from the top of the list to the bottom.
And there are the submissions, too. Mitch is the poor sap who has to go through those. You've generally got to go through a LOT of bad submissions to find a few real gems and it takes a very particular type of person to have the stamina for it. Peter Kuplowsky is like that for Toronto After Dark. He actually seems to enjoy going through the submission pile, which always kind of baffles me. I end up screaming at my TV a lot.