Facility: The Refinery
Colourist: Kyle Stroebel
Release date: 7 February 2019
The opening film in the Berlinale Panorama section this year is a contemporary western with a feminist twist set in South Africa’s desert badlands.
When her disastrous wedding night leads to an accidental killing, Natalie flees her husband and her small, rural town in South Africa’s desolate Karoo region. Reuniting with her rebellious best friend Poppie, who is heavily pregnant, the two young women escape together on horseback across the endless winter landscape. Hot on their trail is Captain Beauty Cuba, a lonely policewoman intent on proving the innocence of her long-lost fiancé, who has been framed for Natalie’s crime. The fate of these three different, yet equally desperate, South African women will eventually converge as they ride towards self-discovery in the face of the ever-present threat of violence, psychological as well as physical.
Watch the trailer now:
