Academy Award nominee Lena Olin plays an internationally renowned poet and novelist busy orchestrating one helluva plot twist in her own life in Magdalena Zyzak and Zachary Cotler’s “Maya Dardel.” “My work is in decline. I see no need to birth a few more mediocre books,” says Maya (Olin) in a new trailer for the film. But rather than quietly retire, she’s decided to take a more radical approach to dealing with the issue: she announces on National Public Radio that she plans to kill herself.
Maya explains, “I don’t have any family so I’m going to need an heir and executor. I want young but professional writers of poetry and the guy I pick gets my house, and my archive, and my publishing rights when I’m gone.”
The men vying for the role “are challenged intellectually, emotionally, erotically, until one of them begins to fathom Maya’s end game,” the film’s official synopsis hints.
“You’re never going to kill yourself. You just wanted attention,” one of the wannabe heirs accuses Maya.
Olin received an Oscar nod in 1990 for “Enemies: A Love Story.” The Swedish actress’ other credits include “Alias,” “Chocolat,” and “The Ninth Gate.”
“Maya Dardel” marks Zyzak and Cotler’s directorial debuts. The pair also penned the script for the drama, which made its world premiere at SXSW this year. The film opens in NY and LA on October 27 with additional cities to follow.
