We proudly present a very special preview to The Congress, by acclaimed director Ari Folman (Oscar-nominated Waltz With Bashir). Last spring, The Congress premiered at the Cannes to great acclaim and now we’ll give you a very special preview before it hits the Dutch cinemas next year.

The Congress is an adaptation of the legendary sci-fi novel The Futurological Congress by Polish writer Stanislew Lem. Central to The Congress is an aging, out-of-work actress (Robin Wright playing an alternate-reality version of herself) who accepts her final job: preserving her digital image for a future Hollywood. For the next 20 years, the studio will have the rights to her image and will be able to have her star in all kinds of movies – even the most commercial kind. Moreover, she will need to disappear for the foreseeable future, so that in exactly 20 years she can be the guest of honor at the Miramount-Nagasaki Congress in a brand-new, fantastic looking world.

"A genius designer on an acid trip" is the way one character describes the futuristic animated universe of The Congress, which contains one of the most startling uses of the medium to come along in years. This feature-length film combines live-action and psychedelic animation into one gorgeous, trippy, mind-blowing piece of art. The Congress stars Robin Wright, Paul Giamatti, Jon Hamm, and Harvey Keitel.

This program screened as part of KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival 2013

Showing in this program

The Congress

• Ari Folman
• Israel / Germany / Poland, 2013
• 122 min.