FRED’s Matt Micucci interview Andrew Cividino, director of SLEEPING GIANT, which was featured in the Another View section of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
We talk with Andrew about how he tried to defy the conventionality of usual coming of age dramas about young teenage kids.
He also talks about where the inspiration for the film came from and about his opting for a more improvisational style and an intuitive cinematography that is open to the spontaneous action but also glorifies the sinister beauty of the Lake Superior setting in which the film takes place.
SLEEPING GIANT: Teenage Adam is vacationing with his parents at Lake Superior. There he meets cousins Riley and Nate, roughly his age, and they spend the endlessly dragging summer days together until boyhood rivalry changes the course of events. A powerful and engaging drama about a sensitive period of life, built upon authentic performances and a wonderfully shifting atmosphere.
Rome is once again expanding the scope of its Film Fest: thirteen days of cinema, international premieres, renowned auteurs, emerging talent, series, documentaries, and cinematic heritage—with Javier Bardem, Paolo Genovese, and Monica Vitti at the heart of an edition that …
Javier Bardem will be one of the major guests of the Rome Film Fest 2026, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award and presenting Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El ser querido.