''Maya Dardel'' is a 2017

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Zachary Cotler Theodore Zachary Cotler (born 1981) is an American filmmaker, poet, and novelist. His first film, '' Maya Dardel'', premiered in the Narrative Competition at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival and was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films and O ...

and Magdalena Zyzak, starring

Lena Olin Lena Maria Jonna Olin (; born 22 March 1955) is a Swedish actress. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Mentored by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, she made her screen d ...

Jordan Gavaris Jordan James Gavaris (born September 25, 1989) is a Canadian–American actor. He is best known for his role as List of Orphan Black characters, Felix Dawkins in the BBC America and Space (Canadian TV channel), Space television series ''Orphan Bl ...

, Alexander Koch, Nathan Keyes, and

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

. It premiered in the Narrative Competition at the 2017

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Film Festival and was acquired by

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films, LLC is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. Th ...

and

Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...

Plot

The film portrays the final weeks leading to the ambiguous disappearance of Maya Dardel, an internationally respected poet and novelist of Scandinavian origins, who has been living as a recluse for decades high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Maya announces on National Public Radio that she intends to end her life and that young male writers may compete to become executor of her estate. Men drive up the mountain and are challenged intellectually, emotionally, and erotically, until one of them begins to fathom Maya's end game.

Cast

- Maya * Alexander Koch – Paul * Nathan Keyes – Ansel *

– Kevin *

– Leonora

Accolades

Cotler and Zyzak received Best Director for ''Maya Dardel'' at the 2017

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove ...

. The film won two awards at the 2017

Prague Independent Film Festival Prague Independent Film Festival (PIFF) () is an international film festival held annually in August in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. The festival focuses on independent cinema. Festival founder and director is Diana Ringo. History 20 ...

– Best Screenplay and Best Actress (

References

External links

* 2017 films American independent films 2017 drama films American drama films Films about poets 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-US-film-stub