Unless there’s a surprise announcement, it looks like Cannes will once again be Terrence Malick-less, despite rumors that one of his upcoming features was going to premiere there. However, this summer, one of his executive-producing efforts, Almost Holy, a new documentary from Steve Hoover (Blood Brother), will see a release, and today the first trailer has landed.
Previously titled Crocodile Gennadiy, it follows a Ukrainian pastor, Gennadiy Mohknenko, who has stirred controversy in his attempt to fight child homelessness by abducting street kids to bring to his private rehabilitation center. As quoted on the poster, The Village Voice‘s Aaron Hillis called it “the best superhero vigilante movie of the year,” and Hoover’s picture — also produced by Nicolas Gonda and featuring a score from Atticus Ross — looks like a compelling watch.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The fall of The Soviet Union left Ukraine in a wake of social and political upheaval. The crippled economy and corrupt infrastructure produced little hope. However, a pastor and civic leader from Mariupol, Ukraine named Gennadiy Mokhnenko made a name for himself by forcibly abducting homeless drug-addicted kids from streets of his city. He founded Pilgrim Republic, a children’s rehabilitation center and home for former street kids. With Gennadiy’s help over the years, things seem to have changed. Mariupol is no longer crawling with homeless kids. Many credit this largely to his efforts at Pilgrim. Now, as the large majority of Ukraine leans towards a European Union inclusion, hopes of continued revitalization seem possible. In the meantime, Gennadiy’s center has evolved into a more nebulous institution.
Almost Holy opens on May 20.