News

Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway will be available on Blu-ray September 15th From Arrow Video

What do you get when you cross Afro-futurism, Cold War paranoia, the dystopian world of Philip K. Dick and 60s exploitation cinema, along with a hefty dose of Lynchian surrealism? The answer: Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, the second feature by Miguel Llansó (Crumbs) and one of the most striking and original films you ll see all year.

The year is 2035, and Special Agent Gagano dreams of leaving the CIA to open a business with his wife Malin (Gerda-Annette Allikas). Before he can hand in his resignation, however, a strange cyber virus attacks Psychobook, the CIA s operating system, forcing Gagano to enter cyberspace via virtual reality to combat the threat. Before long, however, the virus starts to reach out into the real world, destabilising the fragile socio-political order for its own ends,...

In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks with writer/director Miguel Llanso about his new his action/comedy/sci-fi film Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway – which is now available to stream on the Arrow Video Channel in the UK & US!

What do you get when you cross Afro-futurism, Cold War paranoia, the dystopian world of Philip K. Dick and 60s exploitation cinema, along with a hefty dose of Lynchian surrealism? The answer: Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, the second feature by Miguel Llansó (Crumbs) and one of the most striking and original films you ll see all year. The year is 2035, and Special Agent Gagano dreams of leaving the CIA to open a business with his wife Malin (Gerda-Annette Allikas). Before he can hand in his resignation, however, a strange cyber virus attacks Psychobook, the CIA s operating system, forcing...

"A brain-melting experience." What the hell is this?! A new trailer has debuted for a wacky comedy titled Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, self-described as a "sci-fi political satire" made by Spanish filmmaker Miguel Llansó. This initially premiered at numerous genre festivals last year including Fantasia, Neuchâtel, Strasbourg, Sitges, and a few others. Set in the year 2035, the film follows a couple of bumbling CIA agents that are tasked with the mission of destroying a computer virus called "Soviet Union". They enter the system using Vr but the mission turns into a trap. It was shot in Ethiopia, Estonia, Latvia and Spain. Starring Daniel Tadesse, Guillermo Llansó, Agustín Mateo, Gerda-Annette Allikas, and Solomon Tashe. This joins the hall of fame of long, funny titles for films along with The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot. As for the film, it definitely looks wacky but also entirely unique.

Stars: Daniel Tadesse, Guillermo Llansó, Agustín Mateo, Gerda-Annette Allikas, Solomon Tashe, Lauri Lagle, Rene Köster, Iveta Pole, Aris Rozentals | Written and Directed by Miguel Llanso

At its heart, Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, is a Cold War paranoia thriller. It’s about two CIA Agents: Palmer and Gagano. They need to destroy a computer virus called “Soviet Union”. To defeat it, they must enter the Psychobook Cpu system – is it a Game? a Virtual world? Both? But the mission turns into a trap and film’s focus shifts to Gagano’s neverending search for a way back to ‘ our reality’.

However, on the surface, Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, is a discombobulating, absurdist narrative. Imagine Salvador Dali meddling with the rushes from Thomas Cappelen Malling’s Norwegian Ninja (2010) or Duchamp getting hold of demos for I Am The Walrus by The Beatles. Just don...

We've got your first look at the Arrow Video Channel's June additions to their streaming services in the Us & UK, and cult film fans are in for a treat! First up is a Miguel  Llansó's (Crumbs) second feature, the wild, retro-futurist conspiracy adventure film, Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway, which will be streaming exclusively on the Arrow Video Channel. Check out the brand new art and exclusive trailer below! Arrow Video describes the film as: The year is 2035, and Special Agent Gagano dreams of leaving the CIA to open a business with his wife Malin (Gerda-Annette Allikas). Before he can hand in his resignation, however, a strange cyber virus attacks Psychobook, the CIA's operating system, forcing Gagano...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Some of the more obscure guilty-pleasure subgenres familiar to fans of international psychotronic cinema get thrown in a blender to create Miguel Llanso’s second feature. The resulting concoction is a witch’s brew of cheap 1960s European 007 knockoffs, ’70s Filipino exploitation cinema, vintage kung fu pics, retro TV sci-fi cheese and lucha libre-type masked machismo, as well as myriad other elements, filtered through a narrative framework of Cold War anxiety and Afrofuturist techno-fantasy.

Billed as “a Wtf thriller,” it will duly produce that flummoxed exclamation from unprepared viewers. But those with a simpatico arcane pop-cultural taste for giddy absurdism will find “Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway” as delightfully nonsensical as its inspired title.

Expanding on the surreal superheroic template of his Ethiopia-shot 2015 feature debut “Crumbs,” which followed several well-traveled shorts, this crowdfunded epic sprawls across several nations, shooting formats and space/time dimensions. Its shoestring production...

This striking poster is for Ethiopian avant garde science fiction satire (or farce) Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway, which is the follow-up feature to equally strange, but more subdued Tarkovsky-Jodorowski inspired Crumbs (2015). Taken from a still from the film, and digitally brushed to look like a hand-drawn or water colour painting, the scene initially seemed to me as a moment of intimidation, combat or violence, but is actually a moment of quiet intimacy between a man and his wife. This is fitting, considering filmmaker Miguel Llansó's work is equally unclassifiable, and unpredictable as his lead actor, Daniel Tadesse. If you look closely at the posture, you might elucidate that our hero is having some back issues at that exact moment.  Featuring zero...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

All Agent D.T. Gagano (Daniel Tadesse) wants is to retire from the CIA and help his love Malin (Gerda-Annette Allikas) open the best kickboxing joint the world has ever seen. Maybe he’ll hone his pizza-making skills and put a pizzeria next door too if all pans out. Before that dream can come to fruition, however, he’ll need to complete his most dangerous mission yet: securing the so-called “substance” from a computer virus known as “Stalin” (Guillermo Llansó) who’s using it to take control of the virtual reality mainframe Psychobox. Gagano and Agent Palmer Eldritch (Agustín Mateo) might escape with their lives if Commandant Rebane (Lauri Lagle) doesn’t screw them over by following George H.W. Bush’s questionable orders. Or they may end up lost forever within this digital hell.

Not crazy enough for you yet? Add an old school, lo-fi B-movie aesthetic with Crumbs...

A post-apocalyptic, surrealist science-fiction romance from Ethiopia is not something one comes across every day, but on November 3, IndiePix Films will release Crumbs to DVD; its release on all digital platforms follows on November 17.

Currently in limited theatrical release and fresh off a highly acclaimed international festival run, director Miguel Llansó's fantastical fable, called "a rare and beautiful thing", continues to entrance audiences around the world.

About Crumbs:

Set against the background of spectacular, wild and desolate Ethiopian landscapes, Crumbs introduces audiences to a strange-looking scrap collector, Gagano (played by the charismatic Daniel Tadesse). Alternately gripped by daydreams and constant fears, the diminutive Gagano [Continued ...]...

When a dormant spaceship hovering above the Earth comes to life again, strange things begin to happen in the abandoned bowling ally where Birdy (played by the diminutive actor Daniel Tadesse) and his partner Candy live. This sets Birdy off on a hero’s journey through strange landscapes and the detritus of contemporary civilization. Spanish director Miguel Llansó’s Crumbs, a post-apocalyptic surrealist Ethio-sci-fi odyssey, is filled with stunning landscapes, backdrops and characters – futuristic Nazi Teutonic knights, reliquaries to Michael Jordan, Santa Claus. It’s laced with a refreshingly nutty surrealism reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Luis Buñuel, stunning cinematography by Israel Seoane […]...

When a dormant spaceship hovering above the Earth comes to life again, strange things begin to happen in the abandoned bowling ally where Birdy (played by the diminutive actor Daniel Tadesse) and his partner Candy live. This sets Birdy off on a hero’s journey through strange landscapes and the detritus of contemporary civilization. Spanish director Miguel Llansó’s Crumbs, a post-apocalyptic surrealist Ethio-sci-fi odyssey, is filled with stunning landscapes, backdrops and characters – futuristic Nazi Teutonic knights, reliquaries to Michael Jordan, Santa Claus. It’s laced with a refreshingly nutty surrealism reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Luis Buñuel, stunning cinematography by Israel Seoane […]...

Miguel Llansó’s post-apocalyptic, sci-fi romance, "Crumbs" is set in an unspecified period, amid a deserted Ethiopian landscape that is the a result of a "big war." The resplendent oddity depicts a civilization in which junk of the late 20th century is considered of high value, as we follow the film's diminutive superhero, Gagano (played by Daniel Tadesse), a junk collector, who embarks on a surreal epic journey, which includes a witch, Santa Claus and second-generation Nazis, to name a few, who exist within this even more peculiar Oz. "Crumbs" is both a sci-fi adventure movie, as well as a love...

Even though Halloween will soon be behind us, that doesn’t mean November is without a few terror-filled tricks up its sleeve, particularly when it comes to genre films arriving on VOD throughout the month. Things kick off in grand style with the release of the creature feature Lavalantula courtesy of Alchemy, as well as the latest anthology, Mexico Barbaro, featuring eight Mexican directors coming together to give us their unique takes on various folklore and traditions.

Other films hitting VOD in November include The Hallow, Wrecker, Condemned, Deep Dark, Uncanny, Crumbs, Applesauce and the social media inspired thriller, #Horror.

Lavalantula (Alchemy) - November 3rd

After a dormant volcano erupts miles outside of Los Angeles, something within the molten hot lava is awakened. Birthed from the bowels of the Earth itself, arachnid-like creatures with an obsidian-black exoskeleton swarm out. One man, Colton West, a washed-up, former A-list action star, suddenly...

Miguel Llansó’s post-apocalyptic, sci-fi romance, "Crumbs," a Spanish-Ethiopian co-production which made its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) earlier this year, is being released Stateside by Indiepix Films, on all platforms, including limited theatrical screenings in select cities across the country, as well as DVD and VOD. Directed by Spaniard Llansó, who actually lives in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), "Crumbs" stars Daniel Tadesse, and tells a story of diminutive superhero Gagano (played by Tadesse), a junk collector, who embarks on a "surreal epic journey" that's set against...

Miguel Llansó’s post-apocalyptic, sci-fi romance, "Crumbs," a Spanish-Ethiopian co-production which made its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) earlier this year, will be released Stateside by Indiepix Films, on all platforms, including limited theatrical screenings in select cities across the country, as well as DVD and VOD. Directed by Spaniard Llansó, who actually lives in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), "Crumbs" stars Daniel Tadesse, and tells a story of diminutive superhero Gagano (played by Tadesse), a junk collector, who embarks on a "surreal epic journey" that's set against...

Crumbs

Miguel Llansó

Miguel Llansó

2015, Spain / Finland / Ethiopia

According to writer-director Miguel Llansó, Crumbs was created mostly on circumstance and coincidence which might explain why the film seems constructed as an assortment of random images and confusing scenes. But don’t let that scare you: Ethiopia’s first post-apocalyptic sci-fi feature (spoken in Amharic) is a technically stunning and emotionally wrenching directorial debut. There’s little narrative so to speak, but Crumbs does feature an eccentric love story and a dash of politically charged surrealism.

The film takes place in a distant wasteland and follows a physically malformed Candy (Daniel Tadesse) who resides in a rundown bowling alley with his girlfriend Birdy (Selam Tesfaye). Tired of his day-to-day routine salvaging and bartering artifacts from bygone civilizations, he embarks on a quest to find a prophetic “witch” in hopes that he can meet Father Christmas and ask the mythical figure about...

I love when Fantasia gets weird. Featuring its fair share of bigger budget horrors, Asian epics and the occasional mainstream genre pic – it’s the little ones from far off places and no-name filmmakers that excite me the most. This year’s a goldmine for my particular tastes, and it’s been years since I’ve been so excited by their lineup. Most of the films I’m most eager to see are from filmmakers I’ve never heard of, or from countries I’ve nary seen a single film. Living up to its reputation as the world’s largest film festival, Fantasia has allowed it’s breadth to shed focus on new talents and new cinematic languages. This year’s lineup is better than ever, but I managed to choose five films I’m most excited to see. What would be on your list?

Anguish (Sonny Mallhi)

If the...

It’s not clear what’s going on at the start of Crumbs, except for the info imparted via opening titles, that we are in some sort of post-apocalyptic world, where mankind has lost the urge for survival. A little hunchbacked man treks across a fantastical, extraterrestrial-seeming landscape, finds a plastic Christmas tree, spots a uniformed Nazi in gas mask and sparkly Mickey Mouse ears, and takes to his heels. This is the first Ethiopian surreal science-fiction movie.

Things don’t get a great deal clearer. The little man, Candy (Daniel Tadesse) is a scavenger of some sort, living with his woman Birdy/Sayat (Salem Tesfaye) in a decrepit bowling alley, whose machinery starts to work again by itself, at the same time as the rusting spaceship hovering low in the sky starts to power up again. He decides he must go and consult the witch, and then travel to find Santa Claus who,...

After making quite an impression at the Stanley Film Festival, Todd Strauss-Schulson's meta horror hit, The Final Girls, will screen at the L.A. Film Fest next month, along with an advance look at MTV's Scream TV series and many more onscreen scares.

The 21st L.A. Film Fest takes place June 10th-18th in downtown Los Angeles. The festival will feature screenings of 74 feature films, 60 short films, and more, including the following genre offerings:

"Gala Screenings:

The Final Girls – USA (Director Todd Strauss-Schulson Writer Producer Cast Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Adam Devine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev) – An unconventional comedy about Max, a high school senior, who is mysteriously transported with her friends into a 1980s horror film that starred Max’s mother, a celebrated scream queen. Los Angeles Premiere

Scream – USA (Showrunners Jill Blotevogel, Jaime Paglia Writers Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin Executive Producers Harvey Weinstein,...

Sales outfit secures sci-fi feature and a Berlinale Forum film ahead of next week’s Efm.

Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has picked up Miguel Llansó’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Crumbs.

Produced by a Spanish-Ethiopian team Sergio Uguet de Resayre, Meseret Argaw, Daniel Taye Workou and Miguel Llansó, the film received its world premiere on Tuesday (Jan 27) at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) and will have its market premiere at the European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin next week.

Crumbs is the story of Candy, a strange-looking scrap collector, who embarks on a surreal epic journey through the post-apocalyptic Ethiopian landscape.

Llansó’s 2013 short film Chigger Ale about “Hitler´s Ethiopian clone”, also starring Daniel Tadesse Gagano, premiered at Locarno Film Festival and has been screened at Bafici, Tampere, Hamburg among others. Crumbs is his debut feature.

Naszewski described Llansó as having “a very distinctive voice… and we want...