Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is renowned for her versatility, and the acclaimed actress’ next project “Manifesto,” sees her playing 13 different roles, including a choreographer, school teacher, and factory worker. Variety reports that The Match Factory has acquired the international rights to the film, which will make its World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January.
“Manifesto” “combines artist manifestos from the early 20th to the start of the 21st century, including texts from Futurists and Dadaists to Pop Art and Fluxus, and from filmmakers like Lars von Trier and Jim Jarmusch,” Deadline summarizes. “They are re-interpreted as ‘performative monologues’ by Blanchett.”
The film marks the feature directorial debut of artist Julian Rosefeldt, who has “adapted his multi-screen artwork of 13 films into one feature film.”
“The film reveals both the performative component and the political significance of these declarations, often written in youthful rage as a living call to action,” according to a statement. “[It asks whether] those passionate statements can actually be universally applicable in our contemporary society, and questions the role of the artist today.”
“I was blown away by the richness of images that Julian found for the different radical manifestos and the passionate performance of Cate Blanchett,” commented Michael Weber, managing director of The Match Factory.
“There’s this really entrenched and lazy thinking that says there’s a certain demographic who watches films a certain way and that narratives have to reveal themselves — men should be at the core and women should be an objectified part of that process,” Blanchett has previously observed. “It’s really deeply uncreative. It doesn’t produce anything interesting for men or women.” It seems fair to assume that Blanchett’s characters — all 13 of them —will be the core of the rather experimental-sounding “Manifesto.”
Blanchett won Oscars for her performances in “Blue Jasmine” and “The Aviator.” She also received nominations for “Carol,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “I’m Not There.” “Notes on a Scandal,” and “Elizabeth.”
