The Plague

Winner of the Grand Prize and Critics Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival, as well as best picture at Fantastic Fest, The Plague – written by Charlie Pollinger and his directorial debut – is one of the year’s most striking first features.

Set in the summer of 2003 at an all-boys water polo camp, the film follows a socially anxious 12-year-old who becomes ensnared in a cruel tradition targeting an outcast branded with an illness they call “The Plague.” As the lines between childish prank and something darker begin to blur, he realizes the cost of belonging may be far greater than he imagined.

Produced by and co-starring Joel Edgerton, who can also be seen in Train Dreams, The Plague is a raw and unsettling portrait of masculinity in its earliest formation.