SXSW Film Preview: Earthling

In the world of sci-fi and genre films, there are two kinds— the crash-bang-boom-did-you-see-that special FXtravaganza and the character-driven, tension building, we’re-all-in-a-room-and-the-aliens-are-coming-soon kind wherein there is a lot more suggested than actually shown. While the former method can work once in a while (see: the recentStar Trek reboot), it can also…how should we say…NOT work (see: Armageddon, Transformers, um…anything by Michael Bay actually).

Fortunately, Earthling is the latter kind; a moving, tense, emotionally driven tale of a woman realizing she is not who she thought she was and isn’t where she belongs. She feels different from others. Alone. She feels like she is…from another planet. But that’s just a feeling. Right?

Director Clay Liford (of the Sundance-selected short film My Mom Smokes Weed, which, we imagine, is pretty radically different) works from a script he also wrote about a mysterious seed discovered floating by astronauts on a space station, and what that discovery does to some of the people on earth. The ensuing events are seen through the eyes of one woman who finds herself profoundly affected.

This somewhat allegorical setup makes it easy to address a lot of deeper issues: Questions of identity, humanity, alienation, what it means to be who we are and what it could mean if we don’t know—they’re all there to be picked up, examined, and maybe have an insightful moment or two. Just, you know…with aliens!

More about the film, screening times, and trailer after the jump!