The Plague
Summer, 2003. Twelve-year-old Ben is forced to attend an all-boys water polo camp with his coach (Edgerton). Ben is smart, shy, and relatively innocent, but also overly self-conscious and desperate to climb the group’s ruthless social hierarchy. He sees his window of opportunity through the in-joke game of teasing fellow camper Eli, referring to his bubbling skin rash as “the plague”. The rules are clear: if Eli touches you, you have to shower immediately. Amidst this pre-teen hazing ritual, Ben secretly develops a genuine bond with Eli. But when Ben realises his kindness has resulted in him catching “the plague”, the line between game and reality is broken, and Ben spirals out of control.
Special Guests
Charlie Polinger is a New York based filmmaker. His feature debut, The Plague, screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. His second feature, The Masque of the Red Death, produced by A24 and Picturestart, goes into production later this year.
Tickets
Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
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