Live Cargo

Live Cargo is a 2016 dramatic thriller which premiered in competition on April 15, 2016 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film was directed by Logan Sandler, his first feature film. Live Cargo's script was co-written by Sandler and Thymaya Payne, who produced and directed the award-winning documentary Stolen Seas.[1][2] The film stars Dree Hemingway, Keith Stanfield, and Robert Wisdom.[1][3] Live Cargo was featured alongside five other films in the Champs-Élysées Film Festival's U.S. in Progress Paris section,[4] as well as participating in IFP's 11th annual Independent Filmmaker Lab.[5]

Live Cargo
Theatrical poster for film
Directed byLogan Sandler
Produced byRene Bastian
Lauren Brady
Mortimer Canepa
Randolph Hearst Harris
Thymaya Payne
Written byLogan Sandler
Thymaya Payne
StarringDree Hemingway
Keith Stanfield
Robert Wisdom
Music byBrooke Blair
Will Blair
CinematographyDaniella Nowitz
Edited byNick Ellsberg
Garret Price
Production
company
SimonSays Entertainment
Release date
  • April 16, 2016 (2016-04-16) (US)[1]
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Following a devastating loss, Nadine (Dree Hemingway) and Lewis (Keith Stanfield) retreat to a small Bahamian island where Nadine's family has kept a house for many years. As they try to heal and move forward with their relationship, the community on the island shows signs of unraveling—with the island's mayor, Roy (Robert Wisdom), squaring off against Doughboy (Leonard Earl Howze), a human trafficker who manipulates the impressionable homeless teenager Myron (Sam Dillon) into assisting with his smuggling operation.

Cast

Reception

LA Times and IndieWire film critic Katie Walsh described the film as, "a mood piece, a tone poem of a place, a mythic tragedy driven by devastatingly human fallibilities. Anchored by a quartet of equally strong and understated performances by Hemingway, Stanfield, Wisdom, and Dillon, 'Live Cargo' proves itself to be a singularly artful film of great emotional heft." She praised the film's aesthetic, "The black-and-white cinematography references films of the 1960s like I Am Cuba, and the imagery relies on abstraction to build a moody lyrical tone. Portrait-style shots and composed moments of stillness harken toward fine-art photography, using editing as an evocative mode of storytelling — a dramatic storm is rendered in quickly edited shots of crashing waves on rocks and faces in the night."[6]

Den of Geek’s Natalie Zutter rated the film four out of five stars, and called the black-and-white drama “arresting”. In describing the film’s atmosphere, she wrote, “The waves around the island roil ominously, reminding viewers of how deadly the water can be, especially when paired with thunderstorms from above.”[7]

Steven Saito of The Moveable Fest wrote: “While there’s intrigue aplenty as anxieties rise higher than the tide, the assured hand of director Logan Sandler, who co-wrote the script with Thymaya Payne, guides 'Live Cargo' admirably as a thriller that may appear immediately as monochrome but shifts quickly into varying degrees of grey. Embedding Hemingway and Stanfield, two leads you already have trouble taking your eyes off of, in an environment where it truly feels like anything can happen, whether it’s an impromptu street parade of dancers and bongo drummers known as Junkanoo or the constantly shifting alliances between those residing on the island, the film proves to be intoxicating, apt to swallow you up in cinematographer Daniella Nowitz’s glorious use of the widest framing possible.”[8]

Sam Dillon's performance as Myron was named to IndieWire's list of 11 break out actors from this year's Tribeca Film Festival, with Kate Erbland writing: "Logan Sandler's stark black and white drama features some wrenching ideas – it features Keith Stanfield and Dree Hemingway as a couple mourning the death of their child – and an impressive cast, but Dillon's turn as an obsessive homeless youth colors the entire thing in unnerving (and special) ways."[9]

Festivals

In addition to the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, Live Cargo had its European premiere at the Warsaw International Film Festival,[10] then went on to screen at the American Film Festival in Poland,[11] the São Paulo International Film Festival,[12] the Denver Film Festival,[13] the Key West Film Festival,[14] the Torino Film Festival,[15] the Bahamas International Film Festival,[16] and AFI FEST.[17]

Awards

Live Cargo was nominated for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.[18] Live Cargo won the New Visions Award at the 2016 Bahamas International Film Festival.[19]

Production

Live Cargo was filmed on location in the Bahamas, and shot entirely in black and white.[1]

References
  1. "Tribeca Film Festival to Screen World Premiere of Live Cargo". Broadway World. April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  2. Daniel Howden. "A true-life tale of injustice left trailing in Captain Phillips' wake". the Guardian.
  3. Lee, Ashley (April 12, 2016). "Keith Stanfield, Dree Hemingway Face Human Trafficking in Paradise in 'Live Cargo' Teaser". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  4. "2015 – Champs-Elysées Film Festival – US in Progress Paris". www.champselyseesfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  5. Erik Pedersen. "IFP Reveals 2015 Independent Filmmaker Labs Projects & Fellows". Deadline.
  6. Walsh, Katie. "Tribeca Review: Artful And Emotional 'Live Cargo' Starring Dree Hemingway And Keith Stanfield". The Playlist. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  7. "Live Cargo Review". Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  8. "Tribeca '16 Interview: Sam Dillon, Dree Hemingway, Keith Stanfield & Logan Sandler on the Careful Handling of "Live Cargo"". moveablefest.com. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  9. Erbland, Kate. "Tribeca: 11 Potential Breakthrough Actors to Check Out at This Year's Festival (Springboard)". Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  10. Klimkiewicz, Michal. "1-2 Competition at the 32rd Warsaw Film Festival - FilmNewEurope.com". Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  11. Roshanian, Arya (2016-10-21). "American Film Festival Announces 2016 Screening Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  12. "40ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema - Filme - LIVE CARGO". 40.mostra.org. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  13. "Live Cargo | Denver Film Society | Logan Sandler | USA". secure.denverfilm.org. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  14. "Live Cargo". Key West Film Festival. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  15. "Torino Film Festival". www.torinofilmfest.org. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  16. "The Festival : Live Cargo : Bahamas International Film Festival". www.bintlfilmfest.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  17. "LIVE CARGO". afifest.afi.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  18. "Live Cargo | Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  19. "News : Press Item : Bahamas International Film Festival". bintlfilmfest.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
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