Winner, Silver Bear Jury Prize — Berlin Film Festival!

In a quiet and picturesque fishing village in Northern France, a very special child is born, unleashing a secret war between extraterrestrial forces of good and evil. In an attempt to restore their empires, two opposing forces from the depths of outer space, One and Zero, unleash an apocalyptic conflict on Earth. The villainous Zero forces secretly take over the bodies of village locals in order to foster pandemonium on our planet. At the same time, a new species engineered by the One is working towards a new, harmonious evolution. While waiting for the final battle, the imperial legions struggle to win humanity over to their cause. If that all sounds a bit out there, that’s because this slapstick space opera comes from the singular mind of Bruno Dumont (France, Slack Bay). Featuring wonderfully bizarre performances from French stars like Fabrice Luchini, Camille Cottin, and Anamaria Varolomei (Mickey 17), this gonzo sci-fi spectacle is part Star Wars, part Spaceballs, and 100% Dumont.

"A logical extension of Dumont's past decade or so of filmmaking, which has been an extraordinary outpouring of imaginative and observational wonder." – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

"Playing his signature brand of rural French absurdity in stark counterpoint to the grandiose strains of a space opera, Bruno Dumont returns with The Empire: his Barbarella bourguignon, his dijionnaise Dune... Its scope and images are something to behold... Dumont gives grandeur to the ordinary... it takes the breath away." – Rory O'Connor, The Film Stage

"This new film from French filmmaker Bruno Dumont is mad. Offers a completely unique take – both aesthetically and thematically – on the timeworn alien invasion genre." – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

"Consistently surprising... Dumont creates a singular cinematic experience." – Justine Smith, RogerEbert.com

"Picture, if you will, a version of the esoteric sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey made after a cartoon anvil has landed on Stanley Kubrick’s head, causing animated canaries to circle overhead. The resulting film would probably look a lot like The Empire." – Siddhant Adlakha, Truthdig

"Beautifully crafted and certifiably insane... Original and, per custom, impeccably made." – Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter