From celebrated non-binary writer/director Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) comes the much-hyped I Saw the TV Glow, a hallucinatory fever-dream of a film that allegorises trans-gender experiences while paying homage to 90s cult phenomena such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
2024
I Saw the TV Glow
Director
Jane Schoenbrun
Runtime
100 Minutes
Country
United States
Classification
M
Two teenagers bond over a 90s cult-TV show before it is mysteriously cancelled and their reality begins to crack.
From celebrated non-binary writer/director Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) comes I Saw the TV Glow, a hallucinatory fever-dream of a film that pays homage to 90s cult film and TV series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks.
Suburban teenager Owen (Justice Smith) feels at odds with the world around him before cool classmate Maddy (Bridgette Lundy-Paine) introduces him to the TV series The Pink Opaque, in which two girls battle monstrous forces from the Midnight Realm. As Owen and Maddy immerse themselves in the show, their reality cracks, revealing a realm that is more vibrant than their own.
As much an oneiric exercise in atmosphere, tone and mood, as it is a striking, allegorical portrait of teenage queerness and gender dysphoria, I Saw the TV Glow unfolds to a specially curated soundtrack with original music by Caroline Polachek and re-recorded 90s indie tracks by artists such as yeule, Snail Mail and more.
“Jane Schoenbrun confirms their place as a superbly gifted film-maker with the weirdly wonderful story of two misfits finding solace in a creepy TV show."
The Guardian
“Justice Smith is phenomenal as Owen, giving an astonishing physical and emotional performance … He is the aching heart of the film, a tragic hero yearning to be a heroine … Brigette Lundy-Paine plays Maddy with a magnetic confidence that glows as brightly as the TV screens in the film.”
The Hollywood Reporter
“I Saw the TV Glow marries the queer radicality of a Gregg Araki film with the lush intoxication of a Gregory Crewdson photo, and finds Schoenbrun holding on to every inch of their vision as they make the leap from outsider artist to A24-stamped auteur.”
IndieWire
Film Critics Society Feature Film Award – Seattle, Sundance, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne
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Film Credits
Director
Jane Schoenbrun
Year
2024
Country
United States
Language
English
Type
Feature & Fiction
Program Strand
Horror & World Cinema
Producer
Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone & Sarah Winshall
Writer
Jane Schoenbrun
Cinematographer
Eric Yue
Editor
Sofi Marshall
Cast
Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine & Helena Howard
Music
Alex G
Film Source
Sony Pictures Releasing
Genre
Cinephile, Coming of Age, Horror & LGBTQIA+
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