Synopsis

Fernando (Isaac Hernández), a young ballet dancer from Mexico, dreams of international recognition and a life in the US. 

Believing his lover, Jennifer (Jessica Chastain), a socialite and philanthropist, will support him, he leaves everything behind— narrowly escaping death in the process. However, his arrival disrupts Jennifer’s carefully curated world. She will do anything to protect both their futures— and the life she has built.

Director’s
Biography

Michel Franco is an award-winning filmmaker who was born in 1979 in Mexico City. The films he has written, directed, and produced have helped put Mexican cinema in the global spotlight.


His most recent feature film, MEMORY, premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival in Competition and stars Academy Award®-winner Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard, who won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.


His other films include SUNDOWN, starring Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg (in Competition, Venice Film Festival 2021), NEW ORDER (Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, Competition, Venice Film Festival 2020), APRIL'S DAUGHTER (Special Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2017), CHRONIC, starring Tim Roth (Best Screenplay, Competition, Cannes Film Festival 2015), and AFTER LUCIA (Prize Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2012).


He has also produced films under his Teorema banner including Lorenzo Vigas’ DESDE ALLÁ (Golden Lion, Competition, Venice Film Festival 2015), David Zonana’s first two features MANO DE OBRA (Toronto International Film Festival 2019) and HEROIC (Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale 2023). 

Michel
Franco

2023 / Memory

2021 / Sundown

2020 / New Order

2017 / April's Daughters

2015 / Chronic

2012 / Through the eyes

2012 / After Lucia

2009 / Daniel and Ana

Comments
of the Director


Dreams explores the complex power dynamics between Jennifer, a woman from a privileged background, and Fernando, a dancer whose talent gives him power within his own context. Through their relationship, themes of mutual dependence and the struggle for dignity are addressed, reflecting the tensions between the United States and Mexico, where physical and psychological borders impose boundaries on individuals.  


The film is ultimately a study of human interaction, where power, vulnerability, and chemistry between the characters intertwine in an emotional and visceral narrative.

Interview
with Michel Franco

Your new film DREAMS looks at the world through a love story, a family drama, social inequality – but like all your films it also deals with power and acts of violence and cruelty, often within the context of family structures and relationships. What is it that brings you back to this topic?


Well, I think cinema is a very good medium to understand the dynamics of families and societies. And violence is something that when it's not glamorized is interesting to see on the screen. It's something that I never shoot in a way that is enjoyable. So it's not a glorification of violence. And it probably has to do with the fact that growing up in Mexico. We witness how violent acts are committed almost on a daily basis. But it's not something exclusive to Mexico. It happens all over the world. And I appreciate filmmaking that instead of escaping the complex realities we have to live and analyze  and confront them.


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After MEMORY in 2023, DREAMS is your second film with Jessica Chastain as female lead and producer. Can you tell us more about your collaboration with her? Are you planning any future projects together?


Yes, we are talking about the next couple of movies. Memory was fairly traditional, she read the script, she was familiar with my work, she liked it and we just thought we'd give it a chance and work together. And we had such a good experience during the shooting. And during MEMORY on a lunch break, without realizing, I talked to her about the next movie. It really wasn’t pitching! I told her I had this idea for a film. At the time it had no dance, no ballet, in it. The other elements were pretty much in place. And she said yes, of course I'll do it, because we were both enjoying ourselves very much. We had no conflicts at all shooting MEMORY. I give actors a lot of space to work. I try to be respectful and to not overdirect, and many actors appreciate that. And with someone like Jessica - why would I micromanage such a good actress when I want her to expand herself. DREAMS was a different experience because we had lots of conversations before, during and after writing the script. We're just close friends, so it's a very different dynamic than what we had on MEMORY, even if we went for the same goals, I guess for the next movies we're discussing.


Most of your characters in your films are conflicted. How would you characterize Jennifer as a character? How did you discuss that with Jessica?


Jessica is a courageous actress, and she likes a challenge, and that's why she likes shooting with me. Because we're not making movies that show only the best side of the characters we're doing, often quite the opposite. To explore the dark side of people.  Jennifer, her character in DREAMS is a good person, or so she believes. But then it's easy to be good when you're wealthy and everything is fine and you have no real problems in life. So of course, you're a great person. But what happens when you have to face challenges? That's what normal people in the world have to do. Suddenly, Jennifer is troubled. And she doesn't react well. Jessica is a point in her career where she likes these challenges. With the forthcoming movies, she keeps pushing me more, telling me: “Don't be afraid. Let's go. Let's go into more risky territory.”

How much of the way Jessica portrays her character was determined by the script, and how much emerged during the shoot?

The script is pretty much the script, but how she talks, moves, dresses, that is all pure Jessica. We often discussed how to play a certain scene, and I trust her a big deal because she knows better than me how to represent her character. So why not take advantage of all that experience she has? Especially because she wasn't born into it. And that's exactly, I think, why she understands this role so well. This this privileged universe, the universe of privileged people. Jessica is not like that at all. But she knows that world inside out by now. Because, you know, she's a Hollywood star, a celebrity. She's done her bit of research, to say the least.


Let’s talk about Isaac Hernández. As a dancer, he is a huge star already. So how did you cast him as an actor?


I had the idea to make the film, the way I pitched it to Jessica, without the ballet, and then I happened to become friends with his sister. She invited me to see him, and I was sitting at an auditorium with 10,000 people. Isaac came on stage before the show in what was supposed to be an improvised way and takes the microphone and says to the audience:  “I don't know why I'm doing this. I just felt like it, but I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight. I'm very shy, so I don't know how I gathered the courage to take the microphone. Thank you for being here, and thank you for making ballet popular again.” And I look around and everyone's smiling and, you know, people are almost crying, and they're into the emotions already, before any dancer has danced. And I said to myself: “He's a terrific actor, and also, he's full of it, because I'm a film director, so I know when you're acting. I may not believe for a moment that this is all improvised, but all the same I'm deeply moved by what you said.” So even before I saw him dance that night, I thought this guy's going to be an actor of my movie. The charisma that he has when he dances really translate to the screen. He naturally communicates emotions and energy. He's likeable without making any effort. He's very, very clever, very special. So I also thought, why wouldn’t I give a young Mexican who hasn't acted in a feature before the opportunity to appear with Jessica Chastain?


Another challenge for the actors is the general physicality of DREAMS, and of course the explicit sex scenes between Jessica and Isaac. Why do you feel those scenes were necessary for your narrative? And how did you prepare together for these scenes?


When I had the initial conversations with Jessica, we both understood that these scenes are a central part of the film. And she was fascinated by how these things would tell a lot more than just an intimate moment. The story keeps moving forward because of them. There's a lot more going on than just love-making or however you want to describe what happens there, they are not voyeuristic, they are central for the understanding the characters and serve the story.


Getting to a level of comfort must take some time.


Shooting such scenes is always challenging. I trust the actors. I don't tell them exactly how to play this in the same way that I don't tell them how to play other stuff. But of course, there's some sort of choreography, and we, the three of us, discussed it until we were all very comfortable with it. And for me, it’s important to blindly rely on my team. I like working with the same set of people over time, and that helps enormously.  The cinematographer has a huge part in making this work, both aesthetically and atmospherically. Yves Cape has been in that role for my last seven movies already, so we understand each other blindly at this point. And that transmits to the actors, too.


You said that originally ballet wasn't part of the film. And yet the story of Swan Lake almost seems to comment on what happens in your film. How so?


One reason is that using a popular, canonical piece like Swan means people can connect with this subtext, even those who like me aren't experts on Ballet. Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet, which I also use in DREAMS, are instantly recognizable, and their general stories are widely known, so they provide some familiarity, some context. And as in most family dramas that don’t end well, there are structural similarities. Swan Lake plays with positive and negative forces in a very basic way. Swan Lake is a cruel story. And I like that that there's something like that in DREAMS, too. Of course, I also made every choice regarding ballet in the film with Isaac, or rather, Isaac made them for me. He is the expert in that realm, I am not. You know, everybody knows that he's the best dancer in the world. I just let him take over, honestly.


DREAMS also tackles the complicated issue of immigration. Did that feel like a daunting task?


I have always been very concerned about social disparity, economic injustice, and about how unjust the world is. I'm very sensitive to this because I'm Mexican, but because of that social disparity, there's also a large number of Mexicans that try to cross the border looking for a better life, contributing to the American economy and society and cultural life in many ways. And nevertheless, they're often portrayed as parasites or even criminals, people that are taking something away from the country, when the truth is the very opposite. These negative reactions are normally related to the lack of opportunities and to social disparities that ironically also exist in the U.S. Critics of immigration often point their fingers in the wrong direction and often look for someone to blame that has no connection at all with the problems that originate in


Do you see DREAMS as a criticism of the role of the mega-rich in today’s society? 


I think I speak on behalf of the vast majority, and we're all tired of how unbalanced the world is. Privileged people seem to be above the law. And they're also constantly preaching but not practicing. This small percentage of the world bringing more trouble than solutions and preaching what they are incapable of practicing themselves and getting in way beyond what they know when meddling in politics just because they can – because of their money, not individual merit. 

Main Cast
Biography

Jessica Chastain

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Celebrated for her work across film, television, and theater, Jessica Chastain holds an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Drama Desk, 5 Critic’s Choice, and three SAG Awards. She has also received multiple nominations including an Emmy, 2 Tonys, 5 SAG, 2 BAFTA, 3 Academy Award, 6 Critic’s Choice and 9 Golden Globes.


Having trained at The Juilliard School, Jessica's journey began with breakthrough roles in acclaimed films such as "The Help,” Terrence Malick’s "The Tree of Life," and "Zero Dark Thirty."

Some of her most notable roles include her captivating portrayal of Tammy Faye Bakker in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," the astronaut Melissa Lewis in "The Martian," the enigmatic Murph in "Interstellar," as well as the real-life figure Molly Bloom In "Molly's Game." In addition to these notable roles, Jessica has appeared in numerous other films, including "Memory", “Take Shelter,” "Lawless," "Miss Sloane," and "Crimson Peak." On television, she starred in the critically acclaimed miniseries “George & Tammy” for Showtime and "Scenes from a Marriage” for HBO.


Her notable roles in theatre include Nora in Jamie Lloyd’s A Dolls House, Catherine Sloper in The Heiress, and Salome opposite Al Pacino.


Jessica's talent extends behind the camera through Freckle Films, a New York based film and television production company, which she launched in 2016. In addition to “The 355,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” and “George & Tammy,” Freckle Films has produced the film, “Mothers’ Instinct” for NEON, the upcoming Apple Originals’ limited series, “The Savant,” and Michel Franco’s upcoming film “Dreams.” 

Isaac Hernandéz

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Isaac Hernández, Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, is a globally celebrated artist and visionary who began his ballet training in the backyard of his home in Guadalajara, Jalisco, under the guidance of his father. He has performed on the most prestigious stages, including the Bolshoi Theatre, Royal Opera House, and Paris Opera. Isaac has been a Principal Dancer with the English National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, showcasing his extraordinary talent worldwide.


He is a recipient of the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award, and has also earned 13 gold medals and 3 Grand Prix titles. 


As a producer, he spearheads Despertares, the world’s largest ballet gala, and co-founded Soul Arts Productions, fostering creative industries and initiatives like free ballet education for over 400 students. 


Co-star with Oscar-winning talents like Jessica Chastain, Isaac continues to redefine the boundaries of ballet and creative innovation.

Rupert Friend

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Rupert recently wrapped starring as one of the leads in Gareth Edwards's new installment of the "Jurassic World" franchise opposite Scarlett Johansson, in addition to Wes Anderson's new film, "The Phoenician Scheme". He also has recently worked with Wes on "The Swan" and "Ratchatcher", part of the Roald Dahl Short Film series on Netflix, as well as features "Asteroid City" and "The French Dispatch".


His New Line film "Companion" premieres January 31 globally.


He can also next be seen opposite Jessica Chastain in Michel Franco's "Dreams" which will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as Lucio Castro's "After This Death" which will also premiere at Berlin.


Rupert received rave reviews as the lead of David E. Kelley and SJ Clarkson's Netflix limited series "Anatomy of a Scandal". He can recently be seen in Ben Stiller and Apple TV+'s "High Desert" opposite Matt Dillon and Patricia Arquette, directed by Jay Roach, along with the Disney+ and LucasFilm's series, "Obi-Wan Kenobi", opposite Ewan McGregor as "The Grand Inquisitor".


Rupert is best known for his role as 'Peter Quinn' in Showtime's "Homeland". He played the role for five seasons and was nominated for an Emmy. Additionally, Rupert can be seen in Paul Feig's "A Simple Favor" starring opposite Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, Julian Schnabel's "At Eternity's Gate" opposite Willem Dafoe, as well as "The Death of Stalin" directed by Armando Iannucci, opposite Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, and Michael Palin. His lengthy film credits include "The Young Victoria", "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", "Cheri", "Starred Up", "Pride & Prejudice", "Hitman: Agent 47", among many others. Friend can recently be seen leading the Paramount+ series "Strange Angel".

Main
Cast

Jessica Chastain
as Jennifer McCarthy


Isaác Hernández
as Fernando Rodríguez


Rupert Friend
as Jake McCarthy


Marshall Bell
as Michael McCarthy


Eligio Meléndez
as Fernando’s Father


Mercedes Hernández
as Fernando’s Mother

Main
Crew

Director: Michel Franco

Screenwriter: Michel Franco

Producers: Michel Franco, Eréndira Núñez Larios, Alexander Rodnyansky

Executive Producers: Jessica Chastain, Kelly Carmichael, Vladimir Artemenko, Megan Carlson

Director of Photography: Yves Cape, AFC

Production Design: Alfredo Wigueras

Costume Design: Mitchell Travers

Makeup Design: Linda Dowds

Hair Styling: Stephanie Ingram

Editing: Oscar Figueroa Jara, Michel Franco

Sound: Brian Copenhagen, Martin de Torcy

Sound Design: Aviv Aldema, Frank Gaeta

Postproduction: Diego Sánchez

Casting: Susan Shopmaker, Viridiana Olvera, Nina Henninger

Technical
Details

Original title: Dreams

International title: Dreams

Duration: 95 min

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Format: DCP

Sound: 5.1

Year: 2025

Original languages: Spanish, English

Countries of production: Mexico,
United States

Production Companies: Teorema

Co-production Companies: Freckle Films,
AR Content, Easter Film Investment

International
Press

claudiatomassini & associates 

International Film Publicity

 

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berlinale@claudiatomassini.com

+49 173 2055794

 

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paola@claudiatomassini.com

+39 340 3041792


US Press


Courtney Ott

Cinetic Marketing

courtney@cineticmedia.com