Fresh off the NYC premiere at New Directors/New Films, Dekanalog revealed the new trailer and release date for Drowning Dry (Sesės), the family drama film from Lithuanian filmmaker Laurynas Bareiša, co-produced by Academy Award-winner Matiss Kaza (Flow). The film was Lithuania’s entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards.
Starring in the film are Gelmine Glemzaite, Agne Kaktaite, Giedrius Kiela, and Paulius Markevicius.
Drowning Dry made its world premiere at last year’s Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Best Director prize for Bareiša, and the Best Performance Award was shared by its ensemble cast. It had its North American premiere at this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival, followed by screenings at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, and the New York premiere at New Directors/New Films.
It will be released in theaters, starting on Friday, July 18 at IFC Center in New York City with Bareiša in attendance, followed by Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities TBA.
Written, directed, and shot by Bareiša, Drowning Dry tells the story of two sisters, Ernesta (Gelminė Glemžaitė) and Justė (Agnė Kaktaitė), whose lives are irrevocably altered after a near-tragic accident involving one of their children during a weekend getaway with their spouses, Tomas (Giedrius Kiela) and Lukas (Paulius Markevičius).
The title, a reference to the phenomenon of dry drowning, metaphorically underscores the layered and splintered narrative of grief and recovery. “I used the irregular repetition of the dry drowning condition as a structural element of the story to highlight the various ways of dealing with trauma,” Bareiša explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Drowning Dry is both the filmmaker’s second time as Lithuania’s contender in the International Feature Academy Award race and marks the second collaboration with Dekanalog, who previously distributed his 2021 Venice International Film Festival’s Horizons Award-winning debut feature Pilgrims, which had its North American premiere at 2022 New Directors/New Films followed by the U.S. theatrical release.
Watch the official trailer for Drowning Dry (Sesės).