Dialogue: Q&A with director Amalia Ulman following the Friday, May 2, 6:00PM screening and Saturday, May 3, 6:00PM screening.
"A formally radical, biting satire." - Carlos Aguilar, Variety
"The cast, led by Chloe Sevigny and Alex Wolff, ably skewer the American media’s ignorance of the wider world, but Ulman’s compassionate film holds out hope that different peoples can still make connections." - Tim Grierson, Screen International
Opens May 2 | In Amalia Ulman’s (EL PLANETA) sophomore feature, a disorganized American television crew for a show that chronicles bizarre cultural trends heads to Argentina to find a rabbit-suit-wearing musician. When they arrive and realize they are in the wrong country, they decide to fabricate a new story using the locals as their subjects. As the crew, led by show host Edna (Chloë Sevigny), fumble their way through their plan, unexpected connections blossom. MAGIC FARM is a hilariously biting commentary on ethnographic exploitation, with Ulman cleverly reminding the audience that try as they might to integrate, Edna and her crew are just tourists. Siskel Film Center exclusive. Dialogue: Q&A with director Amalia Ulman following the Friday, May 2, 6:00PM screening and Saturday, May 3, 6:00PM screening.
Awards & Nominations
Official Selection - Berlin Film Festival, Panorama Program
Nominee - Teddy Award, Best Feature Film, Berlin Film Festival
5 QUESTIONS WITH AMALIA ULMAN
Interview from the May/June 2025 Gazette
MAGIC FARM has been rightly praised as a biting commentary about exploitation and cultural tourism. What inspired you to make the film?
I was writing a story about the glyphosates in Argentina, which is the country where I was born, but since I've never lived there, I wanted to use the American crew as a vehicle to tell the story. I've been surrounded by hipster types all my life so that was a world I felt comfortable describing.
You wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in MAGIC FARM, as you did in EL PLANETA (2021). How do you balance your work in pre-production and on set, and what have you learned about yourself as an artist by working across these different roles?
I really don't like acting that much. In previous works, I had used my own body only because back then I found it easier to do it all myself rather than having to communicate with others. What I enjoy the most is the pre-production of a film because I'm deeply involved in things like photography, location scouting, direction, and costume design. I love being on set too, but I have a better time on the days I'm not in front of the camera.
The Siskel welcomes a strong audience of students studying film and endeavoring to thrive within the industry. What is one piece of advice you'd give these students?
No one will ever care about your films more than you do, so you will have to care a lot and work relentlessly to stay true to your vision. Be stubborn.
What is a memorable moviegoing experience you've had?
One thing that comes to mind is the screening of Woody Allen's VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA in Gijón, the city where I grew up (and where I filmed EL PLANETA). Not only is the film full of inaccuracies about Spain, which the audience found funny, but part of the movie was shot in Oviedo, our rival town. So it was hilarious, a riot. Everyone was constantly screaming, throwing popcorn around, and laughing out loud.
What film do you watch again and again?
I think it depends on what I'm working on. I've been watching THE NIGHT PORTER (1974, dir. Liliana Cavani) a lot because it's related to a new script I'm writing. But there are films I've watched many times and always leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling, like THE WAYWARD CLOUD (2005, dir. Tsai Ming-liang).
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu