USA, Poland, 2024, 90 mins.
DIRECTOR: Jesse Eisenberg
WITH: Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes
Oscar-nominee Jesse Eisenberg returns both behind and in front of the camera with A Real Pain (2024), starring opposite Succession favourite Kieran Culkin. This heartfelt script, penned and developed by the director, sees cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reuniting for a trip through Poland to honour their late grandmother who was a Holocaust survivor. One can hardly imagine a better-suited couple of oddballs and the familial history is precisely the spark needed to light the fire, so we can see their true essence. Perhaps they can also use the light to catch a glimpse of each other's forgotten selves? Our Closing Film leaves room for introspection too, but most of all, it invites you to be together—really together.
"A touching dramedy with great performances" Mae Abdulbaki, ScreenRant
The Cambridge Film Festival is presented by the Cambridge Film Trust, a registered charity with a mission to foster film culture and education for the benefit of the public, in Cambridge, the Eastern region, and throughout the UK.
