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 film
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.

Spacewoman Spacewoman

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.<br /> Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all.<br /> At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? <br /> This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. <br /> Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere<br /> Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

Tomorrow's Too Late Tomorrow's Too Late

Director: Terry Loane

Year: 2025

In a never before seen way, we are invited to see up close and intimately the changes a transgender person may experience during a medical transition. Having carved out a successful career as ‘Lots’ Holloway (his previous name and artist’s alias), will Dylan Holloway be accepted by his fans who fell in love with his music in the same way. From the highs of gender euphoria to the challenging lows of self-doubt and vulnerability - will all of Dylan’s dreams come true in his mission to be his authentic self or will he have to give up the one thing that’s always brought him solace, his voice.<br /> Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2025 - World premiere

64 Days | the crowd and its leaders 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook

Director: Nick Quested

Year: 2025

Documenting the January 6 assault on the US Capitol - Filmmaker Nick Quested was embedded with the Proud Boys, and other far-right groups during the months leading up to the insurrection, capturing exclusive footage of figures including Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes that was used as evidence in hearings of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, and as part of their larger investigation.