PETROL

PETROL (2022)
Alena Lodkina
Thriller Fantasy Mystery 95'
Australia English & Russian with English Subs
Festivals London Australian FF 2023, SIWFF 2023, Cinemajove 2023, Festival Subversif 2023, New Directors New Films 2023, Kino Athens IFF 2023, Marrakech IFF 2022, CinefestOZ 2022, Melbourne IFF 2022 WP Locarno FF 2022

An idealistic film student is drawn into an enigmatic performance artist’s shadowy world

Melbourne-raised filmmaker Alena Lodkina casts an enigmatic spell of a movie centered around a film student named Eva (Nathalie Morris) and her fragmenting interior world. While working on a deeply personal school project connected to her Russian heritage, Eva meets the mercurial Mia (Hannah Lynch), an artist who runs hot and cold, and with whom she develops a close bond bordering on obsession. As Eva is drawn into Mia’s orbit, she comes increasingly to question her sense of reality, while at the same time making decisions about her own romantic, creative, and professional lives.

'An Australian Standout at This Year’s New Directors/New Films Series'

- The New Yorker

'Petrol captures the intensity of women's friendships beautifully'
- ABC

''A thought-provoking tale of imagination"
- Film Book

"Heartfelt and singular coming-of-age tale"
- ICS

"Calls to mind '60s French sci-fi La Jetée"
- TimeOut

"Defies genre and flirts with horror"
- The Guardian

Nathalie Morris is best known internationally for her starring role in Stan’s Australian teen series Bump, which airs in USA on the CW Network, HBO Max in Latin America and BBC in the UK.

'Petrol' is produced by Kate Laurie (Strange Colours) under the banner of Melbourne-based production powerhouse Arenamedia. Cinematography by Michael Latham (The Assistant, Buoyancy), editing by Luca Cappelli (Strange Colours), production design by Leah Popple (The Stranger), and costume design by Phoebe Taylor and score by Mikey Young (Strange Colours). Robert Connolly (The Dry) & Liz Kearney (Sweet As) are executive producers. A MIFF Premiere Fund film, with the support of Screen Australia, VicScreen, SBS and Orange Entertainment.

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