Monolith (2022 film)

Monolith is a 2022 Australian sci-fi/thriller film released on 27 October 2022. It stars Lily Sullivan, the only on-screen actor in the film, as a journalist uncovering a mystery. Described as high-concept science fiction, the film is written by Lucy Campbell, directed by Matt Vesely, and produced by Bettina Hamilton.

Monolith
Directed byMatt Vesely
Written byLucy Campbell
Produced byBettina Hamilton
StarringLily Sullivan
CinematographyMichael Tessari
Edited byTania Nehme
Music byBenjamin Speed
Distributed byBonsai Films (Australia & New Zealand)
Release date
27 October 2022 (2022-10-27)
CountryAustralia
Budget<A$500,000

Plot

"A disgraced journalist... turns to podcasting to salvage her career, before uncovering a strange artefact that she believes is evidence of an alien conspiracy".[1]

Cast
  • Lily Sullivan as The Interviewer
  • Erik Thomson as Dad (voice)
  • Kate Box as Laura (voice)
  • Terence Crawford as Klaus (voice)
  • Damon Herriman (voice)
  • Ling Cooper Tang as Floramae (voice)
  • Ansuya Nathan as Paula (voice)
  • Matt Crook as Scott (voice)
  • Rashidi Edward as John (voice)
  • Brigid Zengeni as Shiloh (voice)
  • Belle Kalendra-Harding

Production

Monolith is the first feature film to be produced as part of a joint initiative called "Film Lab: New Voices", by South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) and the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF). A development lab ran for 11 months, in which three teams (chosen for development out of an initial 63 contenders[2]) developed their scripts, and one was chosen for production at this time.[3] Monolith received an initial A$400,000 in funding from SAFC and AFF,[4] and with Mercury CX also helping to fund the film. The whole film was funded on less than A$500,000.[5]

Lucy Campbell wrote the script; it is directed by Matt Vesely (development manager at Closer Productions[1]) and produced by Bettina Hamilton.[4][6] The cinematographer is Michael Tessari and Tania Nehme edited the film.[1]

Filming took place in the Adelaide Hills from late May 2022. It is described as a high-concept science fiction thriller.[4] It is all shot on one location, and there is just one on-screen actor (Lily Sullivan); various actors' voices speak to her on the telephone. These include Damon Herriman, Erik Thomson, and Kate Box.[7]

Release

Monolith had its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival[8] on 27 October 2022.[1]

In January 2023 it was announced that the film would have its official world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2023.[9][10][11][12] The world premiere took place at SXSW on 13 March 2023, with two further screenings at the festival.[13]

Monolith also screened at the Gold Coast Film Festival, held in HOTA, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, in April 2023,[14] and had its Asian premiere at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea on 1 July 2023.[15] It was listed by Screen Hub as one of "ten must-see films" at the Melbourne International Film Festival .[16] It had its UK premiere at FrightFest in London on 26 August 2023,[17] and was also selected to screen at many other festivals through the year, including Overlook Film Festival (New Orleans); Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival; Fantasy Filmfest (Germany); CinefestOz; Octopus Film Festival (Gdańsk, Poland); and Sitges Film Festival (Sitges, Spain).[18]

The film secured international sales teams – XYZ Films for North America and Blue Finch Films in the UK. Todd Brown, head of international acquisitions at XYZ, said, about director Matt Veseley, "We haven't been more excited about a filmmaker since we first came across Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson with their debut feature Resolution" (released 2013).[9]

The distributor of Monolith in Australian and New Zealand cinemas is Bonsai Films;[5] and in North America, Well Go USA Entertainment. Blue Finch handles other international sales.[19][20]

Monolith has a limited release in New Zealand cinemas from 25 August 2023.[21][22]

It is released in Australian cinemas from 26 October 2023, shortly after screening at SXSW Sydney,[23] and Q&A preview screenings in South Australia.[18][24]

Reception

After its screening at the Adelaide Film Festival, Rachael Mead of InDaily wrote: "Sullivan is superb as the ethically dubious journalist, effortlessly holding the focus of the entire film", and "Vesely’s feature is far more than a clever manipulation of constraint to heighten tension... Beneath the thrilling claustrophobia lies a cunning puncturing of privilege and a clear-eyed critique of the way we construct, manipulate and ultimately consume 'truth' in a globalised world".[25]

Reviews after the SXSW screenings were nearly all positive. Luke Gorham (In Review Online) draws parallels with the plot of Kiarostami's Shirin, only in reverse, and refers to the "way Vesely and his DP Michael Tessari articulate a sophisticated dynamism within their compositions", delivering "an intricate sensorial work wherein the richness of sound, silence, and spatial minimalism are tightly integrated". He praises Sullivan's performance,[26] along with several other reviewers,[27][28][29] and Vesely's direction, Lucy Campbell's script, Tessari's cinematography, and Benjamin Speed's score are all praised by several reviewers.[30] Josh Hurtado (ScreenAnarchy) writes "Monolith is an intelligent, exquisitely mounted creeping nightmare of a film that I can't wait to read more about once it reaches audiences",[31] while Mary Beth McAndrews (Dread Central) calls it "a gorgeous piece of lo-fi sci-fi that'll creep in through your ears and nestle itself in the folds of your brain".[30] Anton Bitel compares Monolith with David Lynch's Lost Highway and Michael Haneke's Hidden, in that it too "is ultimately a tale of troubled conscience and conflicted self, where everything ultimately comes from within".[32] Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film writes in her four-star review: "Monolith is a great example of how small things can be used to tell a big story, and it will stay with you".[33]

The critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes' "Tomatometer" was 90% as of 28 March 2023.[34] Variety was the only dissenting review at that point, finding that the second half let down the promise of the first, saying "the interesting questions raised earlier on evaporate; in their place are reveals that strain credulity".[35]

Monolith received good reviews following its showing at FrightFest in London in August 2023.[17][36][37]

Awards and nominations

Monolith was nominated as one of eight (out of 72) in Total Film's FrightFest Awards for Best Film, and Sullivan won Best Actress.[38]

It was selected as one of four nominees for the CinefestOZ Film Prize, the richest film prize in the country and worth A$100,000, in September 2023.[39][40] (It lost to Shayda, which was submitted for the Best International Feature category in the 2024 Academy Awards.[41])

At Sitges Film Festival, Monlith was nominated for the New Visions Award (Best Motion Picture). Benjamin Speed's soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Song Composed for the Screen at the Screen Music Awards.[42]

References
  1. "Monolith: World Premiere Gala". Adelaide Film Festival. 7 July 2022. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  2. George, Sandy (22 February 2022). "Sci-fi 'Monolith' wins first greenlight from Australian film lab". Screen Daily. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  3. "Production to begin on sci-fi 'Monolith' from Film Lab: New Voices". IF Magazine. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  4. "High Concept Sci-Fi Monolith Shoots in Adelaide Hills". FilmInk. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  5. Jones, Craig (28 September 2022). "Monolith: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know". MovieWeb. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  6. "Lily Sullivan sci-fi Monolith now shooting in Adelaide". Cinema Australia. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  7. Debelle, Penelope (7 October 2022). "The state of science fiction". InDaily . Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  8. Bolton, Cameron (25 May 2022). "Monolith: High Concept Sci-Fi Thriller Enters Production". MovieWeb. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  9. Rosser, Michael (11 January 2023). "XYZ Films, Blue Finch board Australian sci-fi 'Monolith' ahead of SXSW". Screen Daily. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  10. "'Monolith' thriller from South Australian film talent programme gets international premiere at 2023 SXSW in Texas". AdelaideAZ. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  11. Smith, Stef (10 February 2023). "Rising talent 2023 - directors: Matt Vesely". Inside Film. Retrieved 16 February 2023 – via Issuu. From if 209, December 2022-January 2023
  12. "SXSW – 'Evil Dead Rise', 'The Wrath of Becky', & 'Late Night With the Devil' to World Premiere! [Images]". Bloody Disgusting. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  13. "Monolith". SXSW 2023 Schedule. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  14. "Monolith: Queensland premiere". Gold Coast Film Festival. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  15. "Metal noir: Monolith". Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  16. Dalgarno, Paul (25 July 2023). "MIFF 2023: ten must-see films". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  17. Sayce, Rebecca (26 August 2023). "Monolith - FrightFest 2023 (Film Review)". Filmhounds Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  18. "SA sci-fi Monolith thrills around the world and in cinemas near you". SAFC. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  19. Frater, Patrick (25 April 2023). "SXSW Thriller 'Monolith,' With Lily Sullivan, Boarded by Well Go USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  20. Musnicky, Sarah (25 April 2023). "[News] Well Go USA Acquires Sci-Fi Thriller MONOLITH for North America". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  21. "Monolith". The Capitol Cinema. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  22. "Review: Monolith, the new thriller with only one actor". 1 News. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  23. "SXSW Sydney 2023 Schedule". SXSW Sydney 2023 Schedule. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  24. Sullivan, Lily (24 October 2023). "Monolith actor Lily Sullivan talks about madness, method, and getting into weird spaces in this interview". The Curb (website) (Interview). Interviewed by Whitney, Nadine. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  25. Mead, Rachael (30 October 2022). "Adelaide Film Festival review: Monolith". InDaily. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  26. Gorham, Luke (24 March 2023). "Monolith - Matt Vesely [SXSW '23 Review]". In Review Online. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  27. French, Alan (23 March 2023). "SXSW 2023: 'Monolith' Embraces Minimalistic Sci-Fi". Sunshine State Cineplex. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  28. Hughes, Kat (14 March 2023). "'Monolith' Review: Dir. Matt Vesely [SXSW]". THN. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  29. Donato, Matt (24 March 2023). "Monolith Review: A Ponderous Sci-Fi Podcast Thriller [SXSW 2023]". /Film. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  30. McAndrews, Mary Beth (20 March 2023). "Podcast Horror 'Monolith' Is A Sci-Fi Nightmare [SXSW 2023 Review]". Dread Central. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  31. Hurtado, Josh (16 March 2023). "SXSW 2023 Review: MONOLITH, Single Setting Sci-Fi Delivers Creeping Dread". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  32. Bitel, Anton (14 March 2023). "Monolith (2022)". Projected Figures. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  33. Kermode, Jennie (15 March 2023). "Monolith (2022) Movie Review from Eye for Film". Eye For Film. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  34. "Monolith". Rotten Tomatoes. 28 March 2023. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  35. Nicholson, Amy (17 March 2023). "'Monolith' Review: Gloomy Australian Podcast Thriller Muffles Its Message". Variety. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  36. Nunez, JP (27 August 2023). "FrightFest 2023: Monolith Dives Head-First into a Paranormal Mystery". Horror Obsessive. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  37. Dent, David (29 August 2023). "Monolith (Frightfest 2023) review". Bloody Flicks. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  38. Graham, Jamie (29 August 2023). "The Total Film FrightFest Awards 2023". Total Film. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  39. Slatter, Sean (13 July 2023). "'Bromley: Light After Dark', 'Monolith', 'Shayda', 'The Rooster' up for $100,000 CinefestOZ prize". IF Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  40. Slatter, Sean (3 September 2023). "Noora Niasari's 'Shayda' wins $100,000 CinefestOZ prize". IF Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  41. Slatter, Sean (31 August 2023). "Noora Niasari's 'Shayda' submitted for Best International Feature Oscar". IF Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  42. "Monolith (2022)". IMDb. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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