It would be too simple to say that Liliana is in trouble. A provincial girl arrives on a field trip in Washington, on America’s east coast, only to abandon her classmates and embark on a roving journey without logic or purpose. She will find herself in the company of ideological radicals, meet the educated offspring of the bourgeoisie who practise terrorism-like artivism, and Islamic fundamentalists who love syrupy electronic dance music. She will also encounter the “best” of Trump’s electorate and the holders of the evangelical truth. She also runs into naive and greedy film industry types, for whom Liliana becomes a muse, while becoming an idealised Lolita for others. She doesn’t really want to decide who she would like to be in the story.   

A wry satire with a touch of acid cinema about a modern-day Alice in Wonderland, also known as America’s smouldering socio-political landscape. This time, an apathetically ironic young woman from Generation Z (played by American screen talent Talia Ryder) is at the epicentre. With a light chuckle, she cheats everyone she meets and sings that she is “the cat that lost its black”. The directorial debut of New York-based Sean Price Williams, long-time cinematographer for the Safdie brothers, is an incredibly fresh, daring and quotable breath of American cinema. Having screened at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, the film is being called an absurdly playful slapstick, bringing a Cheshire Cat grin to the faces of conservatives and liberals alike.

This film is screened as part of a cooperation with Bear, Lion & Palm.