The first poster and trailer have dropped for the film New Strains, written, shot by, and starring real-life filmmaker couple Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan during the COVID-19 lockdown in New York City. The film follows a young couple on their first vacation together whose relationship is tested by being stuck inside together during lockdown. It was praised as a “refreshingly lo-fi, emotionally naked, dryly humorous look at forced confinement” by Jordan Raup in his MoMI First Look 2023 preview.
Here’s the full synopsis: “Kallia and Ram have just begun their first vacation as a couple, and they’re already bickering. Though a strange new illness is on the brink of exploding into a pandemic, and despite Ram’s protestations, Kallia insists that they are going to have a fun week in New York City. Within hours of their arrival, a nation-wide lockdown is announced, ruining their plans. Over the course of their stay, they descend to absurd depths of jealousy and co-dependence. Is their childish behavior simply the result of cabin fever, or is it something more?”
New Strains was the winner of a Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and begins its U.S. theatrical rollout next month, with screenings at Roxy Cinema New York (June 13th), Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg (June 15th and 16th), and Los Angeles’ Now Instant Image Hall (June 21st and 22nd), with a North American digital release to follow on Friday, July 19th.
Check out the new poster and trailer below.
