Tick tock, time is running out. Will you be able to complete your mission? One of the most riveting, under the-radar films premiering this fall on the genre film festival circuit is called Zero – the latest feature from talented Congolese filmmaker Jean Luc Herbulot. It premiered at both Beyond Fest and the Sitges Film Festival in Spain – which is where I caught up with it – and still doesn’t have enough attention yet. Herbulot made a splash back in 2021 with his film Saloum, a neo-Western thriller set in Africa, his second feature film at the time. That one also took time building up buzz before it eventually got a US release (trailer here). His third feature is Zero and it’s his most provocative yet, taking aim at America this time, as it’s about two Americans who wake up in Senegal with bombs strapped to their chests. Why? What’s going on? What’s the point? Are they being used – if yes, what for? Who is manipulating them? So many questions at the start that the film does eventually answer in distinct & surprising ways. It’s really refreshing to see Herbulot continue to make edgy genre films that are unlike anything else made by North American and European filmmakers. // Continue Reading ›
