The Congress is a 2013 live-action/animated science-fiction drama film written and directed by Ari Folman, based on Stanisław Lem's 1971 Polish science-fiction novel The Futurological Congress. It stars Robin Wright as a fictionalized version of herself who agrees to have a film studio use a digital clone of her in any film they want. The Congress then flashes forward twenty years later to her travels in the studio's animated utopia world, where anyone can become an avatar of themselves, but are required to use hallucinogenic drugs to enter a mutable illusory state. The Congress premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2013. Independent film distributor Drafthouse Films announced, along with Films We Like In Toronto, their co-acquisition of the North American rights to the film and a US theatrical and VOD/digital release planned for 2014.
French promotional poster
Ari Folman is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, animator, and film-score composer. He directed the Oscar-nominated animated documentary film Waltz with Bashir (2008) and the live-action/animated film The Congress. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Ari Folman