Valmora Productions, BKE Productions and Little Language Films are delighted to announce that their tender queer drama IN TRANSIT will have its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Selected in competition at the festival, the film will premiere on 17th August. Directed by Jaclyn Bethany (Tell That to the Winter Sea, Highway One), IN TRANSIT stars writer Alex Sarrigeorgiou as Lucy, Francois Arnaud (Yellowjackets, The Borgias) as Tom, and Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, Pride and Prejudice) as Ilse.
In a small town in Maine, Lucy (Sarrigeorgiou) tends bar at the local dive where she’s worked for years, content in the rhythms of her quiet life with her longtime boyfriend, Tom (Arnaud). But when Ilse (Ehle), a mysterious older artist adrift in her own life, asks Lucy to model for her, each woman stirs in the other the possibility of a different kind of meaning. Just as Lucy learns the bar is being sold and the life she’s built may be slipping away, she has to reckon with what she truly wants.
IN TRANSIT is playing in competition, nominated for The Sean Connery Award for Feature Filmmaking Excellence, selected at the discretion of the Festival Director. Alongside the World Premiere, at the newly reopened Edinburgh Filmhouse, IN TRANSIT will have additional screenings at The Cameo, Vue Omni and the National Galleries of Scotland, tying beautifully into the film’s artistic themes.
On having the World Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival, the In Transit team said “In Transit is thrilled to World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Through EIFF, this female driven, queer story set in rural America will be showcased on a global stage. As filmmakers with ties to both the UK and Europe, we are honoured to premiere at this historic festival, a festival that has discovered and championed diverse filmmaking talent we admire. EIFF is the perfect home for our independent film and we are so grateful to premiere with the festival.“.
Director Jaclyn Bethany commented: “One of the themes that interests me most as a filmmaker is intimacy between women. It is quite simply something we do not see enough on screen. When I received the script for In Transit I was instantly transported to Lucy and Ilse’s world — two women from completely different backgrounds who are brought together by fate, art and desire. Alex’s script is beautiful, subtle and thought provoking. I knew I wanted to direct this film.
The film presents a study of a relationship that we may have seen before, (an artist and muse) but subsequently turns this relationship on its head. With a poetic approach and artistic lens, every frame is carefully chosen, every word precisely spoken. In Transit explores a unique and invigorating relationship between two women, exploring many aspects of femininity, female sexuality and the vulnerability of womanhood – both through our bodies and minds. The film is a chamber piece, rotating solely around two strong women and their desires. I believe most women can see aspects of themselves through each character.
Like Lucy, I am from a small community where family and integrity are often placed before one’s artistic and personal desires that may go beyond the small mindedness of the place. Like Ilse, I somehow want to exist outside of the sphere where I am most comfortable and pursue my art and personal desires in ways that may not be socially acceptable or understood.
The film focuses on the subtle, yet invigorating desire between these two women – the admiration, inspiration and complexities they offer each other, set against a bleak, cold and icy backdrop of a New England winter. When these women are together, excitement, art and passion flows. When they are apart, their worlds seem lonely and mundane. Their experience is a slice of life that neither of them will ever experience again, and I excitedly invite the audience to experience this journey.“
Screening Details:
World Premiere
Sunday 17th August, 21:15
Edinburgh Filmhouse
Screening + Q&A
Monday 18th August, 21:45
The Cameo
Screening + Q&A
Tuesday 19th August, 13:30
Vue Omni (SDH Screening)
Screening + Q&A
Tuesday 19th August, 18:45
National Galleries of Scotland
Find tickets and more information here
