An intimate evening between a film director and an escort is disrupted when a familiar face arrives. A very theatrical work that touches on many of the darker aspects of Hollywood stardom, a world of broken promises and crushed dreams. Fantastic performances, clever writing, and striking visuals keep it thoroughly engaging as it effortlessly bounces from uncomfortable to humorous, and from disturbing to full-on haunting by the end. Starfuckers is a brilliant and unpredictable take on a familiar theme, a riveting and progressively surreal indictment of a horrible industry-wide phenomenon unleashed by the rich and powerful.
Champs-Élysées Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize for Best American Independent Short Film
Community Partner
Antonio Marziale, Jonathan Slavin, Cole Doman
USA
2021
English
Featured in:
International Shorts: Having a Bad Day
Misadventures, bad choices, and a series of unfortunate events are all present in this program of short films. There is some serious drama and a bit of comedy on display in these exhilarating, thoughtful, and unpredictable tales.
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Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Credits
Executive Producer
Eli Raskin, Matthew Puccini, Charlotte Taschen
Producer
Eli Raskin
Screenwriter
Antonio Marziale
Cinematography
Matthew Pothier
Editor
Will Mayo
Production Design
Angelica Vasquez
Original Music
James William Blades, Taul Katz
Director
Antonio Marziale
Antonio Marziale was born in London, England and grew up in Switzerland. He graduated with a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University and has starred in Alex Strangelove (Netflix), Altered Carbon (Netflix), and just wrapped shooting on an upcoming Dark Horse Entertainment / Netflix show.