Yahoo Lifestyle Ruben Östlund’s ‘Entertainment System Is Down’ Takes Off With Cinema Inutile on Board; Founder Alex C. Lo Talks Global Vision (EXCLUSIVE)
Ruben Östlund’s highly anticipated “The Entertainment System Is Down” has added New York and Tokyo-based Cinema Inutile as executive producer, continuing the company’s strategic expansion into larger-scale international projects. The film, starring Kirsten Dunst, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Brühl, Nicholas Braun and Samantha Morton, follows passengers on a long-haul flight forced to confront the horror of boredom when the entertainment system fails.
“I’m very, very excited for the film. It’s going to be a very special one,” Cinema Inutile founder Alex C. Lo tells Variety. Lo, a self-described “long-time admirer” of Östlund’s work, is a frequent collaborator of “The Entertainment System Is Down” producer Philippe Bober, including on Lou Ye’s Cannes-debuting “An Unfinished Film” and Jessica Hausner’s Sitges winner “Club Zero.” “The Entertainment System Is Down” is currently shooting and aims for a 2026 release.
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Lo established Cinema Inutile just before the pandemic in late 2019, with the company’s activities effectively beginning in 2021. Initial projects included Qiu Yang’s Berlin winner “Some Rain Must Fall” and Shuchi Talati’s “Girls Will Be Girls,” which went on to win an award at Sundance, the latter drawing Lo’s attention as a unique South Asian perspective on teenage sexuality. “I’ve seen many coming-of-age films that tackle the theme of teenage sexual awareness, but never one from South Asia,” Lo explains.
The company has quickly built an impressive portfolio of critically acclaimed films. Among these is Yeo Siew Hua’s 2024 Venice selection “Stranger Eyes,” which Lo boarded for “the depth of its social-political commentary and the complexity of the narrative.”
Cinema Inutile’s current slate encompasses 10 projects across various stages of development and production. Notable among these is “Left Handed Girl,” a Taiwanese project in post-production directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and co-written with “Anora” director Sean Baker, who also serves as editor. Mike Goodridge produces with Le Pacte handling international sales.
Another key project is the Italian fantasy-western “Heads or Tails,” directed by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, following their Cannes-premiered “The Tale of King Crab.” The company is also developing “The Meltdown,” a coming-of-age thriller from Chilean director Manuela Martelli and is co-financing the upcoming Jim Jarmusch film “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother” headlined by Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver.
Cinema Inutile’s filmography also includes significant participation in notable productions including Felipe Gálvez Haberle’s Cannes-winning “The Settlers,” Jessica Palud’s Cannes-bowing “Being Maria,” Pia Marais’ Locarno-debuting “Transamazonia,” Neo Sora’s Venice-selected “Happyend,” Tsuta Tetsuichiro’s Tokyo selection “Black Ox” and Max Walker-Silverman’s Sundance title “Rebuilding.”
Discussing their approach to international co-productions, particularly prevalent in Southeast Asian projects like “Stranger Eyes” and Truong Minh Quý’s Cannes-debuting “Viet and Nam,” Lo underscores the importance of “maximizing available resources and trying to make the best plan for the film.” They add that success depends on “openness to collaboration with different cultures, but on the same goal of making the best film possible.”
Regarding distribution strategies for art house cinema, Lo notes that they focus on “territory-by-territory sales, working with very well-established art house cinema distributors in each territory.” For films like “Girls Will Be Girls,” which had a successful international festival run, streaming platforms have proved valuable, with the film securing a Prime Video deal in India.
Looking ahead, Lo sees potential in expanding globally: “I’m very curious about Latin America, and I will keep cultivating Europe. I love European cinema.” They maintain that Southeast Asia remains a priority, noting “there’s a growing desire for seeing more diverse voices from Southeast Asia.”
The company name draws inspiration from Daoist philosophy about making space in one’s heart for wisdom, reflecting Lo’s approach to filmmaking. Their vision for the next five years involves maintaining a commitment to unique, artistic films while expanding into “bigger scale projects that are not just artful, but also commercially viable.”
Lo’s philosophy in selecting projects centers on four key qualities: “culturally specific, socially relevant, thematically complex and universally important.” They emphasize the importance of supporting risk-taking in an increasingly challenging market: “People are losing confidence about themselves — even the most talented people might be discouraged from making what they really want to make. Our mission is to protect the vision and help the filmmakers make the best film they wanted to make.”
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