Surge

About

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting

Quiet and demure Joseph (Ben Whishaw) leads a modest life in London, shuttling between his solo apartment and the airport where he forms part of the security team. His birthday goes unnoticed by his colleagues and only mildly celebrated by his irritable parents. Something seems to be simmering in Joseph just under the surface. It only takes a few strange incidents to unlock his impulse to go on a reckless, frantic, and unbelievable journey through the streets of the city as he determines that boundaries and niceties will no longer govern his life.

In his remarkable debut feature, Aneil Karia propels us into a tense and tightly wound thriller that unfolds over 24 hours, upending logic and order to chilling effect along the way. Whishaw (The Lobster, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) gives one of his career-best performances, channeling expressiveness and wild vigor as Joseph hurtles towards self-liberation. At once a damning and uncomfortable look at the constrictions of society and a shrewd portrait of masculinity gone haywire, Surge grabs the viewer from the outset and won’t let go.

YEAR 2019

CATEGORY World Cinema Dramatic Competition

COUNTRY United Kingdom

RUN TIME 105 min

COMPANY Protagonist Pictures

WEBSITE http://www.protagonistpictures.com

EMAIL vanessa@protagonistpictures.com

PHONE +442077349000

Credits

Director
Screenwriters
Producers
Co-Producer
Director of Photography
Editing
Casting Director
Production Designer
Costume Designer
Makeup Artist
actor

Artist Bio

Aneil Karia

Aneil Karia recently directed his first feature, Surge, starring Ben Whishaw and produced by Rooks Nest Entertainment for BBC Films and BFI. In television, he recently completed the closing three episodes of Top Boy for Netflix, made by Cowboy Films. Before that, he directed the opening block of Pure, produced by Drama Republic for Channel 4. In 2016, Karia directed the short films Work, financed by Film4, which was BAFTA- and BIFA-nominated for best short. This followed his 2013 short film, Beat, which screened at festivals worldwide.