The Congress (2013 film)

The Congress
French promotional poster
Directed byAri Folman
Screenplay byAri Folman
Based onThe Futurological Congress
by Stanisław Lem
Produced byDiana Elbaum
David Grumbach
Eitan Mansuri
Jeremiah Samuels
StarringRobin Wright
CinematographyMichal Englert
Edited byNili Feller
Music byMax Richter
Production
company
Pandora Filmproduktion
Distributed by
  • ARP Sélection (France)[1]
  • Cinéart (Belgium/Luxembourg)[2]
  • Pandora Film Verleih (Germany)[3]
  • Gutek Film (Poland)[4]
Release dates
  • 15 May 2013 (2013-05-15) (Cannes)
  • 3 July 2013 (2013-07-03) (France)
Running time
123 minutes[5]
CountriesFrance
Israel
Belgium
Poland
Luxembourg
Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget€8 million[6]
Box office$356,172[7]

The Congress is a 2013 English-language French live-action/animated science-fiction drama film written and directed by Ari Folman, based on Stanisław Lem's 1971 Polish science-fiction novel The Futurological Congress. It stars Robin Wright as a fictionalized version of herself who agrees to have a film studio use a digital clone of her in any film they want. The Congress then flashes forward twenty years later to her travels in the studio's animated utopia world, where anyone can become an avatar of themselves, but are required to use hallucinogenic drugs to enter a mutable illusory state. The Congress premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2013.[8] Independent film distributor Drafthouse Films announced, along with Films We Like In Toronto, their co-acquisition of the North American rights to the film and a US theatrical and VOD/digital release planned for 2014.[9]

  1. ^ "ARP Sélection launches the Congress in 111 cinemas". 3 July 2013.
  2. ^ "The Congress".
  3. ^ "The Congress | PANDORA FILM Verleih".
  4. ^ "Kongres (2013) Ari Folman".
  5. ^ "THE CONGRESS (15)". StudioCanal. British Board of Film Classification. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  6. ^ "The Congress". IMDb.
  7. ^ "The Congress".
  8. ^ Richford, Rhonda (19 April 2013). "Cannes: Ari Folman's 'The Congress' to Open Directors' Fortnight". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  9. ^ Husney, Evan (6 May 2013). "Drafthouse Films Journeys to 'The Congress'". Drafthouse Films. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2013.