CineVegas 2009 Preview: ‘Asylum Seekers’

CineVegas 2009 is right around the corner (this week to be precise), and We Are Movie Geeks are going to be there in full force. Throughout the festival, which runs from June 10th through the 15th, we are going to be bringing you all the coverage you need including reviews, interviews, party breakdowns, and red carpet premiere coverage.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is bound to be the most bizarre, outlandish and most likely one of the most entertaining, if not a little disturbing cinematic experienced of CineVegas 2009. Rania Ajami has a vivid imagination and a peculiar sense of humor that reminds me a bit of Guy Maddin. This movie should be a real trip!

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

The nymphomaniac virgin, the twin-less trophy wife, and the rapping stockbroker are a little off. Likewise, the electronics-loving Lolita, the faded pin-up girl, and the paranoid are not quite right. But when these six would-be patients compete for the last available bed in a luxurious insane asylum… well, that’s just plain crazy. And, without a doubt, absurdly appealing. ASYLUM SEEKERS’ mood-driven cinematography and production design create a Terry Gilliam-esque world of freaky characters and cracked institutions that point to the surreal but are uncomfortably close to reality. Director Rania Ajami blends absurdity with psychotherapy and madness with magic realism. Touching upon the themes of identity, normality, sexuality, romance, reality, and the idea of what exactly constitutes insanity, Ajami lays out a colorful vision that matches her colorful characters. Along with her performers, all of whom help us connect with the disconnected, she delivers what is not just an exaggerated observation of the people society doesn’t willingly accept, but a reflective one that questions the human condition — one that is as whimsical as it complex, as comedic as it is chaotic.

‘Asylum Seekers’ premieres on Saturday, June 13 at 3:30 pm and screens again on Sunday, June 14 at 6:00 pm.