On Falling
On Falling | |
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Directed by | Laura Carreira |
Written by | Laura Carreira |
Produced by | Jack Thomas-O'Brien |
Starring | Joana Santos |
Cinematography | Karl Kürten |
Edited by | Helle Le Fevre |
Music by | Ines Adriana |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Conic (uk) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
Countries |
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Languages |
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On Falling is a 2024 social realist drama film, written and directed by Laura Carreira and starring Joana Santos. A British-Portuguese co-production, the film is Carreira's debut feature.
Plot
[edit]Set in Scotland, the plot follows the plight of Portuguese immigrant and warehouse worker Aurora, trapped in a life governed by wage slavery and social isolation and its repercussions, leading to her emotional breakdown.[2][3][4]
Production
[edit]The film is a British-Portuguese co-production by Sixteen Films and Bro Cinema, and it had support from BFI, BBC Film, Screen Scotland and ICA .[3][5]
Release
[edit]On Falling world premiered in the 'Discovery' programme of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It was also presented at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 24 September 2024,[6] in competition for the Golden Shell. Carreira took the award for Best Director (ex-aequo) at the festival. It also made it to the 'First Feature Competition' of the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.[7] where it was awarded the Sutherland prize for 'Best First Feature’.
Conic acquired UK and Ireland distribution rights,[8] and released it theatrically on 7 March 2025.[9] It also landed a distributor in the Benelux (Vedette), former Yugoslavia (MCF), Greece (Cinobo), Middle East (Teleview), Spain (Vértigo), and Switzerland (Frenetic).[8]
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10.[10]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a very impressive debut".[11]
Matthew Joseph Jenner of International Cinephile Society rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing that it "conveys a very clear message and delivers it with genuine affection and attention to detail, which is important for a story that carries such resonance".[12]
Fionnuala Halligan of ScreenDaily pointed out how the film grows to become "an intense, enveloping experience".[13]
Sophie Monks Kaufman of IndieWire gave the film an 'A-' rating, deeming it to be "far better than anything living-political-legend Loach made during the final innings of his career".[4]
David Katz of Cineuropa declared the film a "laudably a protest film clamouring for a better way of life, but it still evokes a story's first act mistaken for a whole feature".[3]
Accolades
[edit]Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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San Sebastián International Film Festival | 28 September 2024 | Golden Shell | On Falling | Nominated | [14][15][16] |
RTVE-Another Look Award – Special Mention | Won | ||||
Silver Shell for Best Director | Laura Carreira | Won | |||
BFI London Film Festival | 20 October 2024 | Sutherland Award for Best First Feature | On Falling | Won | [17][18] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "On Falling". TIFF. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (5 September 2024). "Laura Carreira & Jack Thomas-O'Brien On The Strong Collaboration Behind Their Political TIFF Debut 'On Falling'". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ a b c d Katz, David (11 September 2024). "Review: On Falling". Cineuropa.
- ^ a b Kaufman, Sophie Monks (6 September 2024). "'On Falling' Review: A Quietly Devastating Debut Introduces an Emotionally Sophisticated New Master of Social Realism". IndieWire.
- ^ Tabbara, Mona (14 February 2024). "Goodfellas adds Laura Carreira's 'On Falling' To EFM line-up (exclusive)". ScreenDaily.
- ^ "La directora portuguesa Laura Carreira presenta 'On Falling': "¿Cuál es el coste de vivir de esta manera?"". Europa Press. 24 September 2024.
- ^ Szalai, Georg (4 September 2024). "London Film Fest Unveils Full Program, Including Doc and First Feature Competition Lineups, Series". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ a b Dalton, Ben (17 October 2024). "Laura Carreira's 'On Falling' sells to key territories including UK-Ireland (exclusive)". ScreenDaily.
- ^ Billington, Alex (17 February 2025). "New Trailer for 'On Falling' Film - About Loneliness in the Gig Economy | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ "On Falling". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (24 September 2024). "On Falling review – the strip mining of an online warehouse worker's sanity". The Guardian.
- ^ "Toronto 2024 review: On Falling (Laura Carreira)". International Cinephile Society. 9 September 2024.
- ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (23 September 2024). "'On Falling': San Sebastian Review". ScreenDaily.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (28 September 2024). "San Sebastián Film Festival Award Winners (Updating Live)". Variety.
- ^ Taylor, Nick. "San Sebastián Announces Their Competition Slate!". The Film Experience. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "Todos los ganadores del Festival de San Sebastián 2024". Escribiendo Cine. 28 September 2024.
- ^ Bakare, Lanre (20 October 2024). "'Emotionally resonant' animation wins top prize at London film festival". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (29 August 2024). "London Film Festival: Dea Kulumbegashvili's 'April' And Barry Keoghan Pic 'Bring Them Down' To Play In Competition". Deadline. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- On Falling at IMDb
- 2024 films
- Films set in Glasgow
- 2024 drama films
- 2020s Portuguese films
- 2020s British films
- British drama films
- BBC Film films
- British Film Institute films
- Portuguese drama films
- 2024 directorial debut films
- 2020s English-language films
- 2020s Portuguese-language films
- Films about social realism
- Films about immigration to Europe