Swiss-French filmmaker Ursula Meier is preparing her first English-language feature, “Quiet Land,” a mystery-romance hybrid set in Montana that will premiere at the Venice Gap-Financing Market next week. The film follows Connor McCluskey, a retired highway patrolman in his seventies who uses an analog camera to investigate two suspicious fatal crashes. After being forced to leave the force following a medical exam, McCluskey becomes convinced that a local woman may face similar danger and pursues his own investigation, raising questions about whether he has uncovered a genuine crime or is experiencing mental decline.
The project marks Meier’s fourth feature and represents a longtime creative ambition. The director drew inspiration from Swiss police photographer Arnold Odermatt’s decades-long documentation of car accidents in striking black-and-white imagery. Meier adapted this concept by reimagining the photographer as a fictional character set against the American landscape, exploring how vast terrain might inspire larger storytelling ambitions.
Meier’s transition to English-language filmmaking was influenced by collaborations with actors including Gillian Anderson on her previous work “Sister,” which earned acclaim at international festivals. The director described her American travels during awards season as catalyzing a desire to eventually create a film grounded in an American setting and narrative, combining her European sensibilities with the scale and storytelling possibilities of the United States.
Originally reported by Variety →
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