Tito

Tito is the name of this deeply frightened man who hides in an abandoned house to protect himself from an invisible threat - sexual predators. Tito lives in isolation, barely speaks and suffers from constant panic attacks. His everyday life is also characterized by hunger and sleeplessness. The situation changes when the over-friendly neighbor John (Ben Petrie) shows up. He enters Tito's life without being asked, brings him food and weed and tries to build a friendship. At first, John seems to help Tito, but the relationship becomes increasingly toxic. Tito begins to open up, dances and laughs - but the question remains: At what cost? “Tito” (2019) is the directorial debut of Canadian filmmaker Grace Glowicki, who also plays the lead and title role. As an experimental drama with elements from the comedy and horror genres, the film uses strong visual and acoustic means to depict Tito's inner world. Glowicki's physical portrayal proves to be particularly haunting, as Tito communicates almost exclusively through gestures and facial expressions. The feeling of anxiety is intensified by the camerawork and sound design. After its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where “Tito” won the Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award, the film received the Audacity Award at the Oldenburg Film Festival and was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award. "The young and extremely likeable director Grace Glowicki told in the very well moderated Q&A that she herself had lived in such a toxic relationship, which led to drug problems and psychological injuries. She had worked through this with “Tito”. [...] Glowicki spices up her film with numerous surrealistic sprinkles, giving it an oppressive, unhealthy atmosphere. The ending in particular leaves you thinking for a long time and doesn't let Tito disappear into nothingness so quickly. A strong debut." (Marco Koch, on: filmforum-bremen.de)