MOVIE OF THE MONTH: MAY 2016

Director:  Drake Doremus
Screenplay: Nathan Parker
Story: Drake Doremus
Camera:  John Guleserian
Running: 101 minutes
Country: United States

A futuristic love story set in a society where emotions have been eradicated. Equals tells the story of Silas (Hoult) who lives in a future society called The Collective. The inhabitants of this modern world are a new breed of humans called Equals. Equals are peaceful, calm, fair and polite. Life in The Collective is perfect; there is no greed, no poverty, no violence and no emotion but a new disease is threatening everyone. SOS or Switched On Syndrome is activating in it's victims everything they thought they had escaped: depression, sensitivity, fear & love. Once a person is overtaken with SOS they are sent away to The Den and never seen again. 

When Silas is infected, he becomes an outcast but he notices one person who seems to understand what he's going through. Nia (Stewart) has feelings, but she seems to be able to hide them. When he confronts her, they discover a connection that quickly takes over everything. They feel love and intimacy for the first time in their lives but the only way for them to insure their survival is to escape.
 
The film had its world premiere in the international competition section at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival.The film had its North American premiere in the Special Presentations programme at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is scheduled to be released on May 26, 2016, through DirecTV Cinema prior to opening in a limited release on July 15, 2016, by A24.

In a futuristic utopian society, human emotions have been eradicated and everyone lives in peace but when a new disease surfaces, everything changes for illustrator Silas (Hoult). He becomes an outcast once infected and is drawn to his writer co-worker Nia (Stewart), who is also infected but hiding her condition. In order to survive, they have to escape together. On July 29, 2015, it was announced that "Equals" was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival and had its world premiere on September 5. On August 18, 2015, it was announced the film was selected to have its North American premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Movie Website: