From the minds of Sean Price Williams and Nick Pinkerton comes a psychedelic road trip through America’s countercultures.

One of the audience favourites from this year’s Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, The Sweet East is the sardonic directorial debut from Sean Price Williams (cinematographer for the Safdie brothers, Alex Ross Perry, and music videos for A$AP Rocky and Boygenius). Film critic Nick Pinkerton’s genre-hopping screenplay follows high-schooler Lillian (Talia Ryder) as she absconds from an excursion to Washington D.C., and drifts into a long, strange trip across America’s fractious underbelly, encountering extremists and grifters of every stripe along the way, and becoming the subject of their varied political and artistic projections. Shot on 16mm and featuring unexpected turns from Red Rocket’s Simon Rex and Australia’s Jacob Elordi (Euphoria), lead Ryder is the true revelation in this psychedelic picaresque satire of contemporary America.

Rating

MA15+

Duration

104 MINS