Exclusive Clip from Alexandre Koberidze’s Sony Ericsson-Recorded Premiere of Dry Leaf at Locarno

      We can appreciate those who skillfully create whole feature films on iPhones, but choosing to film a three-hour feature using a Sony Ericsson––a device that stopped being produced in 2011––demonstrates a distinct level of artistic daring. Alexandre Koberidze will follow his 2021 film What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? with Dry Leaf, a feature that will debut at this year’s Locarno Film Festival. We are excited to present the exclusive first clip, which is sure to remind Millennials of cell phone videos from their middle and high school years.

      Here is the synopsis: “Sports photographer Lisa suddenly disappears, leaving behind a letter requesting not to be found. She was last spotted taking photos of rural football fields in isolated Georgian villages. Her father, Irakli, unable to come to terms with her disappearance, embarks on a quest to locate her. He joins Levani, Lisa’s mysterious best friend, and together they journey across the countryside, retracing her route through tranquil villages, encountering kind-hearted strangers, and engaging with children playing football. What they uncover are mere fragments of Lisa’s existence—traces that become more elusive as they progress. Just when they start to despair, an enigmatic event provides one last clue, pulling Irakli and Levani into the unknown and rekindling a faint light of hope.”

      As Koberidze states in his director’s note: “In the late 1950s, Brazilian footballer Didi introduced a kicking technique known as the ‘dry leaf.’ Much like a dry leaf falling from a tree, it’s impossible to predict where it will land; similarly, this technique makes it hard for the goalkeeper to foresee the ball’s exact path. The mystery even extends to the kicker. Think of a leaf falling from above—its direction and speed change, sometimes descending swiftly and straight, only to suddenly shift. It may hover slowly and gently before altering course again, influenced by height, wind, humidity, and countless other unnoticed factors. Even when it touches the ground, the leaf’s journey continues—strong winds or a child on the way to school might carry it elsewhere, or it could be swept into a bag with many other leaves destined for incineration.”

      See the clip and poster below: