Neptune Frost

Multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique vision to this stunning summation of the themes, ideas, and characters he’s explored in his work thus far (including his 2016 album Martyr Loser King). Codirected with his partner, the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, Neptune Frost takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped miners of coltan—a largely unregulated but tech-critical mineral—form a revolutionary computer hacker collective. From their headquarters in an e-waste dump, they attempt to overthrow the regime that’s exploiting the region’s citizens and natural resources. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection becomes the spark that catalyzes the campaign.

Set between the poles of past and present, dream and waking life, male and female, Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering experience—and a call to reclaim technology for political change. Perhaps Hollywood Reporter sums it up best: “Neptune Frost is…pure cinematic power.” (105 mins., DCP)