The Cinematheque

“Profoundly elemental … Harvest grows hallucinatory … You get the sense of centuries of ancestors lurking in the shadows behind the villagers, watching as their descendants preserve their way of life. Until, of course, they can’t.”

Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times

Scotland during the Middle Ages. This metaphor of pre-modernity life allegorizes the transition to capitalism, as hundreds of years of humble farming are threatened by the unexpected arrival of a mysterious mapmaker. Harvest is the English-language debut of the formidably talented Greek New Wave director Athina Rachel Tsangari (showcased in our first VGFF), who pivots impressively from the satire of Chevalier and absurdism of Attenberg to this unique period picture. She has described the film as being concerned with ​“outsiders: the map-maker, the people on the move, and the company man—all archetypes of shattering change … There are no heroes, only imperfect, ordinary folks.” Caleb Landry Jones and Harry Melling lead the cast, while Sean Price Williams (Good Time) provides the 16mm cinematography.

“Anarchic and naturalistic … Harvest is Tsangari’s most stylistically ambitious film since her debut The Slow Business of Going.” Alex Lei, AV Club

The closing-night screening on April 1 will be introduced by Eirini D. Kotsovili, senior lecturer in the Department of Global Humanities, SFU. Her areas of interest include literature, identity, and modern Greece.