
This is a 21st-century cinema milestone—the first time a feature film starring award-winning actors like Jude Law (in drag!), Steve Buscemi, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Lily Cole (the list goes on) will premiere on mobile phones. No velvet ropes, no guest lists, just film fans around the world watching the debut of a new work by a renowned filmmaker.
As director Sally Potter points out, “There is, potentially, no hierarchy of who gets to see the film first. A teenager in her bedroom in a village in Spain, a rancher in a small town in Australia, a movie star in a Penthouse in New York, all are in it together, simultaneously; [...] a vast web of parallel experience.”
RAGE is set in the glamorous and chaotic world of a New York fashion house preparing for a runway show. The film has a simple but radical structure. It consists entirely of documentary-style interviews with individual characters—a designer, his models and everyone from a media mogul to a seamstress—shot by an (unseen) student named Michelangelo on his cellphone behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week. Unexpectedly, the budding filmmaker ends up witnessing an accident on the catwalk that spirals into a murder investigation.
This is one movie that’s actually perfect for mobile phones. The one-on-one interviews make for intimate viewing because the actors seem to be talking to you the entire time. Seeing it on a handheld screen only enhances that feeling of intimacy. The film has been custom-edited into seven episodes for Babelgum Mobile, with a new episode being released each day, premiering September 21. One week later on the 28th, after all the episodes have debuted, they will also be available here on the Babelgum website.
If you want to take part in this distribution revolution, download the free Babelgum Mobile app at the iTunes store (or click here if you have Google Android) and watch all the episodes of RAGE beginning today, September 21.
Further reading on the RAGE release:
The Independent
NY Times
Art Beats Blog NY Times
THR
ScreenDaily
indieWire.com
London Times
BBC (video interview with Sally Potter)
Netribution
And for more info, sneak peeks, trailer and links see the RAGE page on our website