Description

Also Available on Blu-ray!

“One of the truest, most beautiful movies ever made about two strangers.”  ~Wesley Morris, The Boston Globe

One of the most universally acclaimed gay films ever made, this sensual, remarkably observed, beautifully acted wonder is the breakout feature from British writer director-editor Andrew Haigh (Greek Pete). Rarely has a film been as honest about sexuality—in both depiction and discussion—as this tale of a one-night-stand that develops into a weekend-long idyll for two very different young men (exciting newcomers Tom Cullen and Chris New) in Midlands England. It’s an emotionally naked film that’s both an invaluable snapshot of the complexities of contemporary gay living and a universally identifiable portrait of a love affair.

Awards & Quotes

• “Bittersweet, achingly authentic, and so intimate it almost feels invasive.” — Alison Willmore The A.V. Club
• “Naturalistic without being ineloquent, heartfelt yet unsentimental, Weekend is the rarest of birds: a movie romance that rings true.” — Eric Hynes Village Voice
• “British filmmaker Andrew Haigh’s background in editing (from Gladiator to Mister Lonely) is evident in the casual beauty of moments that only appear ‘found,’ giving Weekend an engrossing documentary feel.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly
• “There is… a need for stories that address the complex entanglements of love and sex honestly, without sentiment or cynicism and with the appropriate mixture of humor, sympathy and erotic heat. Weekend, Andrew Haigh’s astonishingly self-assured, unassumingly profound second feature, is just such a film.” — A.O. Scott The New York Times
• “So much movie can be made with so little plot, given sufficient humanity and dramatic tension. That’s the case with Andrew Haigh’s eloquent chamber piece.” — Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal
• “Weekend is such a smart, prickly, sexy, inventive film that it critiques itself and critiques its viewers, gay or straight, even as it spins an archetypal romantic fable.” — Andrew O’Hehir Salon.com
• “This is a smart, sensitive, perceptive film, with actors well suited to the dialogue. It underlines the difficulty of making connections outside our individual boxes of time and space.” — Roger Ebert Chicago-Sun Times
• “Earnest and understated, Weekend has the intimate look and feel of a two-character stage play.” — Joe Leydon Variety
• “Weekend manages to ride the line between character study, comedy, drama, and a host of other genres without feeling cramped.” — James Renovitch Austin Chronicle
• “What begins as a one-night stand deepens, over the next two days, into a genuine romance as the young lovers embark on an epic dialogue that touches on the most profound questions of love, commitment, honesty, and identity.” — J.R. Jones Chicago Reader
• “I hate to damage so fragile a work with overpraise, but, gay or straight, if you don’t see yourself in this movie, you need to get a life.” — David Edelstein New York Magazine

AWARDS

• Best Achievement in Production — British Independent Film Awards
• Most Promising Newcomer (Tom Cullen) — British Independent Film Awards
• Audience Award — Czech Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
• Best Screenplay — Evening Standard British Film Awards
• Best Film — Ghent International Film Festival
• Best Feature — Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
• Outstanding International Narrative Feature — L.A. Outfest
• Breakthrough British Filmmaker (Andrew Haigh) — London Critics Circle Film Awards
• Best Actor in a Narrative Feature (Tom Cullen) — Nashville Film Festival
• Best Narrative Feature — Nashville Film Festival
• MovieZone Award (Andrew Haigh) — Rotterdam International Film Festival
• Emerging Visions Award — SXSW Film Festival
• Audience Award — San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
• Audience Award — Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival

Product Features

DVD

• New high-definition digital restoration, approved by director Andrew Haigh and director of photography Ula Pontikos, featuring 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray™ edition
• New program featuring interviews with Haigh, Pontikos, producer Tristan Goligher, and actors Tom Cullen and Chris New
• New interview with Haigh on the film’s sex scenes
• On-set video footage shot by New and others, and two scenes from Cullen’s and New’s auditions
• Video essay on the film’s set photographers, Oisín Share and Colin Quinn
• Cahuenga Blvd. (2005) and Five Miles Out (2009), two short films by Haigh
• Trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Dennis Lim