Frameline50: Sparks

Guided by Godard, styled like Araki, yet uniquely its own, Sparks is a wonderfully eccentric first feature about a bohemian group of misfits looking to escape the teenage wasteland of their small town. In their free time, the crew watch Jean-Luc Godard films in an abandoned drive-in they squat at and take monthly treks to a local reservoir, which they believe holds a time-traveling portal. After a new member named Cleo takes the urban myth to heart, she finds that running back to the past might not help her avoid her future.

Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) gives an excellent performance as Cleo, a girl obsessed with the French New Wave desperate to travel back to the movement’s birthplace in 1960s France. With an ensemble that also includes Denny McAuliffe (God Save the Queens, Frameline47) and former Disney Channel star Madison Hu, Sparks comes to life thanks to the rich chemistry within “The Crop.” At times melancholic, while other times hilariously bizarre, writer/director Fergus Campbell’s debut offers a visually striking and surreal journey worth hitching onto.

Expected Guests: Fergus Campbell, Lola Lafia