A young pastor in a small Texas town has a mission: to help people experiencing homelessness. But he is faced with a harsh winter – and resistance by his congregation. This is the world of Down the Arm of God, starring Caleb Landry Jones (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Dracula; X-Men: First Class) and directed by Peter Brunner (My Blind Heart, Luzifer), which world premieres at the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival on the Swiss fest’s Piazza Grande program on Aug. 11.
The creative duo, which previously collaborated on To the Night, co-wrote the screenplay, inspired by true events, and developed it with people without housing. Their goal: to highlight that experiencing homelessness is the result of systemic failures. “For about five years, Caleb and I created this project with people who live the reality of homelessness,” Austrian director Brunner, a former student of Michael Haneke, shares in a director’s note. “Their voices form the heart of our film, which approaches this crisis not through statistics, but through human experience.”
The film stars Jones as young pastor Nick, India Marie Cross (Wicked City), Nick Stahl (Let the Right One in), Mena Suvari (American Beauty) and Jones’ brother John P.W. Jones, among others.
