Cincinnati-made “Killing of a Sacred Deer” up for Top Award

 

Representatives of Film Cincinnati, including Kristen Schlotman, executive director, will be leaving Wednesday for the Cannes Film Festival in support of Cincinnati-made movies, including The Killing of a Sacred Deer, shot in the Cincinnati area last year.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer will be screened on Monday, May 22 at the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France. The film, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell, is in competition for the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm), the highest award at Cannes. 

“For the second time in three years, a Cincinnati-made film is making its debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival,” said Schlotman. “Like Carol two years ago, The Killing of a Sacred Deer shows that Greater Cincinnati is the home to world-class cinema. We’re going to Cannes to bring in even more top producers to the area.” 

In fact, Carol’s director, Todd Haynes, also has a movie in competition at Cannes this year, Wonderstruck.  Based on Brian Selznick’s acclaimed 2011 illustrated novel, Wonderstruck follows two deaf children (Oakes Fegley and Millie Simmonds) from two separate eras who secretly wish their lives were different.

In The Killing of a Sacred Deer, a teenager’s attempts to bring a brilliant surgeon into his dysfunctional family takes an unexpected turn. Written by Efthymis Filippou and Yorgus Lanthimos and directed by Lanthimos, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is produced by Element Pictures, A24 and Film4. 

In the most recent economic study, the motion picture industry contributed $38.3 million to the Greater Cincinnati economy in 2016, its largest impact yet and twice as much as the industry’s economic impact in 2015.The economic impact study, led by the University of Cincinnati Economics Center, also noted that the 10 productions filmed in the Cincinnati area last year added the equivalent of 409 jobs to the local economy and increased earnings of $13.6 million. 

The Cannes Film Festival, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, runs from May 17 through May 28.