My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To

2020 Official Selection: Features

FEATURE | United States | 90 MINUTES | English, Spanish | English subtitles

MY HEART CAN'T BEAT UNLESS YOU TELL IT TO

Horror, Drama

Dwight (Patrick Fugit) prowls the streets after dark. He searches each night for the lonely and forlorn, looking for people who won't be missed. Dwight takes no joy in this, but he needs their blood. Without fresh human blood, his fragile young brother Thomas cannot survive. Each death takes a larger toll, the burden of his crimes weighing heavier each time, threatening to crack his spirit. But Thomas (Owen Campbell) and his sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) are all the family Dwight has left, and as a fiercely private and close-knit family unit, they depend on him and the rituals they've learned in order to keep their secret. But while Dwight yearns for another life, Jessie needs them to stay together. And always the boy must feed.

With his austere feature debut, featuring remarkable performances from the entire cast, writer, and director Jonathan Cuartas has made himself a filmmaker to watch. His restrained approach, sparse frame, and sharply wound focus weave the mythological elements of his story into a neo-realist family drama that elevates the traditional micro-budget American indie into something altogether unique.—Landon Zakheim


CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Jonathan Cuartas

Jonathan Cuartas is a Colombian-American filmmaker from Miami. He graduated film school in 2016, screening his thesis film Kuru at Palm Springs International Shortfest. His next short film, The Horse and the Stag, won Best After Dark Short at Indie Memphis. Jonathan is a 2019 Sundance Knight Fellow.

Director
Jonathan Cuartas
Producer
Kenny Oiwa Riches, Anthony Pedone, Jesse Brown, Ian Peterson, Patrick Fugit
Screenwriter
Jonathan Cuartas
Cinematographer
Michael Cuartas
Editor
Tj Nelson
Composer
Andrew Rease Shaw
Production Designer
Rodrigo Cuartas
Executive Producer
Matt Wigham, Kenny Oiwa Riches
Costume Designer
Camilla Phelps

CONTACTS

Press Contact
Daniela Sapkar
Sapkar Public Relations
New York, New York 10011
Phone: 646 644 4418
daniela.markoska@sapkarpr.com