Promised Land


Promised Land

a film by Michael Beltrami
Switzerland/Italy 2004, 35mm, 99′, o.v. English/Italian

Festivals & Prizes

26. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken 2005
Québec, 33rd Festival Int. Nouveau Cinéma Nouveaux Médias Montréal, 2004
57. Locarno International Film Festival, International competition, 2004

Synopsis:

Ethan Wildwood lives in his own world, midway between reality and dream. Escaping Los Angeles and an actor’s life full of hardship and failure, he is given the task of shooting short on-the-road stories by a documentary producer friend.
Driving his strange self-promoting car and equipped with a small video camera, he tells the story of his journey and his encounters with ordinary people in the vast American countryside. Haunted by memories and obsessive fantasies about when he was a successful child-actor, Ethan seeks refuge in the simple everyday life of an aimless traveler.
Until one day when he meets Vicky, a singer traveling from place to place searching for her daughter Mary Jane, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances ten years earlier. Ethan intrigued by the story starts his own personal investigation, which will uncover hidden and unexpected truths. At the same time new roads open up to him; roads that will lead him to better understand the latent aspects of his suffered, peculiar existence.

Credits

Cast:
Chad Smith, Ruth Gerson, Lalaine, Giuseppe Cederna, Patrick Bauchau
Director:
Michael Beltrami
Production:
Amka Films Productions and RSI-Swiss Television
Co-Production:

Orione Cinematografica and Istituto Luce

With the support of:
Federal Office of Culture
Swiss distribution:
Columbus Film, Zürich
international sales:
Adriana Chiesa Enterprises