Willem Dafoe plays father figure in ‘The Florida Project’ trailer
In 2015, director Sean Baker released his film Tangerine, shot on augmented iPhones, to some of the best critical success of the year, further progressing his career as an indie filmmaker to look out for.
And look out for him we must, as A24 has just released the trailer for Baker’s follow-up film The Florida Project, which follows young Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) during their stay at “The Magic Castle,” a motel run by Bobby (Willem Dafoe). As Halley finds herself falling into troubling circumstances, Bobby looks to step up to not only help her, but to be a father figure to the many children at the motel. Yet, it seems as though Moonee has no problem creating her own fun with her imagination.
The Florida Project premiered at Cannes Film Festival to outstanding reception. It currently sits at 96% on RottenTomatoes with 22 fresh reviews out of 23 total, and at a score of 91 on Metacritic with 9 positive reviews. The film then went to the Champs-Élysées Film Festival in France and will visit the Toronto International Film Festival in September before a limited theatrical release on October 6, 2017.
Willem Dafoe has already received extensive praise for his performance, with many calling him a near-lock for an Oscar nomination. Some critics have predicted the film to be nominated for Best Picture.
Baker shot The Florida Project on 35mm film, but it is unclear how many theaters will be able to project it in that format.
A24’s A Ghost Story, Menashe and Good Time are still in theaters. The production-distrubtion company will release Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which premiered at Cannes to slightly divisive reviews and stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Barry Keoghan (of Dunkirk), on October 27. Its other end of the year plays include Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird, releasing on November 10, and the James Franco directed-starring The Disaster Artist, which premiered as a work-in-progress at South by Southwest to nearly unanimous acclaim and will visit Toronto International Film Festival, releasing on December 1.