Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last year the Tribeca Film Festival had to be canceled. But, this year, the popular film festival founded by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal will be back to the streets of New York City, and most of the scheduled titles that couldn’t be screened in the 2020 edition are moved to the current one. And one of those titles is My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020), a horror drama about two mysterious siblings who find themselves at odds over care for their frail and sickly younger brother.
In the movie, Dwight 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 and his sister Jessie 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.
This dark awards-winner tale is the debut feature film of writer and director Jonathan Cuartas. The main cast of the movie is formed by Patrick Fugit, Ingrid Sophie Schram, Owen Campbell, Moises L. Tovar, Judah Bateman, and Katie Preston.
My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020) has had an extended festivals run for the last 2 years where it has achieved several awards and nominations. It was the winner of the New Direction Competition at the Cleveland International Film Festival, Best Cinematography at Molins Film Festival, Audience Choice Award at Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival, and winner of the Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation and New Visions Award for Best Motion Picture at Sitges Film Festival. It also took part in MOTELX – Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival, Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, and Calgary Film Festival among many others.
On June 12, 2021, My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020) will have its special screening at Tribeca Film Festival 2021. After that, on June 25, 2021, the movie will have a theatrical release and will be available on digital via Dark Sky Films. Here you can watch its official trailer.
