Kino Lorber virtual theatrical exhibition initiative Kino Marquee expands with Brazilian thriller Bacurau ‘release’

Kino Lorber’s virtual theatrical exhibition initiative “Kino Marquee” has expanded to include 150 arthouse theaters set to screen the Cannes-winning Brazilian thriller Bacurau. Alamo Drafthouse and Laemmle Theaters have signed on to screen Bacurau through many of their locations. A virtual Q&A with filmmakers and cast hosted by BAM will also be available on Wednesday, April 1st at 8PM Eastern. Kino Lorber also plans to offer movies from other independent distributors under the initiative.

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles and starring Sônia Braga and Udo Kier, Bacurau won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2019, then went on to screen at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals.

Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You is also available through Kino Marquee with Film Forum in New York City, where that film’s theatrical premiere on March 4th was cut short by the Film Forum’s closure. Multiple cities will follow later this week.

Kino Marquee recently launched in order to enable theaters shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak to continue to serve their audiences and generate revenue during a very difficult time. The initiative has been designed to emulate the moviegoing experience as much as possible, enabling movie audiences to support their local theaters by paying to view films digitally. Under the Kino Marquee program, Kino plans to initiate virtual releases with participating theaters for other currently scheduled and upcoming Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist first run and repertory titles until theaters are able to reopen.

Click Here for a current list of participating theaters on board to screen Bacurau.

In addition to Braga and Kier, Bacurau also stars Bárbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Thardelly Lima, Rubens Santos, Wilson Rabelo, Luciana Souza, Karine Teles, Antonio Saboia and Carlos Francisco.

The film takes place a few years from now, in Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão. The village is mourning the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead. There are forces that want to expel them from their homes, and soon, in a genre-bending twist, a band of armed mercenaries led by Udo Kier arrive in town picking off the inhabitants one by one.

A fierce confrontation takes place when the townspeople turn the tables on the villainous outsiders, banding together by any means necessary to protect and maintain their remote community. The mercenaries just may have met their match in the fed-up, resourceful denizens of Bacurau.