How would you pick up the pieces if you lost all concept of who you are? In “Apples,” the directorial debut of the Greek filmmaker, Christos Nikou, an amnesiac pandemic sweeps the globe and forces those afflicted with the disease to a recovery program involving cassette tapes and cameras. But is that enough to recover one’s identity?
READ MORE: Jessie Buckley & Riz Ahmed To Lead Christos Nikou’s Sci-Fi Romance ‘Fingernails’
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
As an unpredictable, sweeping pandemic causes people to develop sudden amnesia, a man finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help him build a new life. His treatment: performing daily tasks prescribed by his doctors on cassette tape, and capturing these new memories with a Polaroid camera. Greek writer-director Christos Nikou’s debut feature is a surreal and enigmatic work, a beguiling exploration of memory and identity.
Nikou’s debut stars Asis Servetalis, Sofia Georgovassili, Anna Kalaitzidou, Argyris Bakirtzis, and Kostas Laskos.
“Apples” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 to rave reviews (read our review of it here). It also screened at TIFF, Telluride, and AFI Fest that year. Cohen Media Group swooped in at AFI Fest to grab US distribution rights to the film. Thanks to its festival success, Cate Blanchett and her spouse Andrew Upton signed on as executive producers with Coco Francini.
As Nikou’s new film hits U.S. theaters, his next film and English-language debut heads into pre-production. “Fingernails,” a sci-fi love story, stars Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed in a near-future where loves gets put to the test–literally, an Institute tests the validity and longevity of long-term relationships. Blanchett’s also set to back this one, too. It sounds like “Fingernails” operates in a similar vein to Yorgos Lanthimos‘s “The Lobster,” so definitely a movie to keep an eye on.
“Apples” hits select theaters in New York and Los Angeles on June 24. Watch the trailer below.