Project Detail

Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other

Synopsis

Life, death and making meaning are the heart of a beautiful and often very funny film about an ageing couple who, after an accident, face the inevitability of impermanence and seek a deep peace in their relationship while they still can.
Thirty years after a chance encounter, Maggie and Joel, aged 75 and 84, are still very much in love. But their relationship is not without complications. Born in the hard-boiled Bronx, Joel Meyerowitz is a world-renowned photographer with major exhibitions and 40 books to his name. British-born Maggie Barrett is a talented but less recognised artist and writer. There is a knot of unease in their relationship, which is further strained when Maggie falls and breaks her leg and Joel must take on her caregiving. In the shadow of mortality, each with a long and dramatic life behind them, the hard truths of life together provoke in Maggie and Joel an attempt to find a shared inner peace while there is still time. With unique access to the couple's lives, directors Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet have created a profoundly moving film about living, creating and loving.
Official Selection CPH:DOX 2024 - World premiere
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2024

Details

Year
2024
Type of project
Features
Running time
100 min
Director
Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet 1st Feature
Producer
Signe Byrge Sørensen, Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet
Executive Producer
Mandy Chang, Joslyn Barnes, Melissa O’Shaughnessy, James O’Shaughnessy and Janus Billeskov Jansen
Editor
Estephan Wagner, Josh Mallalieu
Director of Photography
Jacob Perlmutter
Sound
Henrik Garnov
Composer
Diogo Strausz
Principal cast
With contributions from: Maggie Barrett and Joel Meyerowitz

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

UK, Denmark, US co-production

Manon et Jacob Ltd (UK), Final Cut for Real (DK)

Sales Company

Cinetic Media

26 Broadway, 14th Floor
New York
NY 10004
USA

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Art Sex Music Art Sex Music

Director: Caroline Catz

Year: 2026

A biographical documentary of the artist Cosey Fanni Tutti based on her best selling memoir.

One in a Million One in a Million

Director: Itab Azzam, Jack Macinnes

Year: 2026

A Syrian girl's decade-long journey to Germany and back, as she and her family face the challenges of war and life as refugees, showing both the hardships and hopes of starting anew. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Antiheroine Antiheroine

Director: James Hall, Edward Lovelace

Year: 2026

Courtney Love, singer, songwriter, and actor, is sober and preparing to release new music after a decade, ready to share her unfiltered story. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere