Screening times:
Friday, August 8, 8:45 PM

Nacho Vigalondo | Spain, Belgium 2024 | 110m

Grieving the loss of his girlfriend Daniela (Beatrice Grannò), Nicolás (Henry Golding) is consumed by grief. He sees a glimmer of hope when he's offered a chance to participate in a groundbreaking sleep therapy that simulates reality through lucid dreaming. But Nicolás tosses aside the rules of the project and instead lets his mind recreate Daniela in dreams.

Visionary filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo (Colossal), distinguishes the dream world from the real one by switching from a 4:3 letterbox ratio with a VHS look to a widescreen digital frame, making the dreamworld more vivid and appealing. This is The Matrix if Neo had chosen the blue pill, embracing an illusion too comforting to escape. But he goes along, the limitations of Nicolás's world become impossible to ignore — he must confront what healing really means and whether he’s ready to let go.

Daniela Forever is a sci-fi journey through love, loss, and dreaming.

This is Carbon Arc Cinema's first TGI SCIFI, a semi-regular feature aimed at bringing quality international and art house science fiction to Halifax audiences.

"Vigalondo challenges that we all have to wake up sometime, no matter how deep our grief." - Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com

"To Golding’s credit, there’s no vanity in his portrayal of Nicolas. His unraveling is honest and raw in its ugliness... and it’s never too late to learn how to be good to the people you love." - Jourdain Searles, IndieWire

"The film emerges as a refreshing antidote to the blockbuster doldrums. Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo’s Daniela Forever presents a profoundly human story through Henry Golding’s captivating performance on the big screen." - Lupe Rodriguez Haas, CineMovie.tv

Tickets $12 ($11.40 cash at the door if available)