Brian Cox gives
one of his finest
performance
VARIETY
Joe Leydon
A universal story of love and family, life and death and birth that make this a true winner for everyone.״
DEADLINE
Pete Hammond
“Heart-wrenching directorial debut of Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun ...full of pain, love, life.״
CHICAGO READER
Marissa De La Cerda

OFFICIAL TRAILER

Based on the bestselling novel by José Luis Sampedro

THE ETRUSCAN SMILE stars Brian Cox (HBO’s SUCCESSION and recent Broadway leading man in THE GREAT SOCIETY) as Rory MacNeil, a rugged old Scotsman who reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son, Rory’s life will be transformed, just when he expects it least, through a newly found love for his baby grandson.

Press

Praise from the critics!

“Sensitively directed by the Israeli duo Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun, THE ETRUSCAN SMILE is a perfect example of what can happen when a great, versatile and powerful actor raises familiar material above and beyond….”
OBSERVER - Rex Reed
"Brian Cox has perhaps the richest lead film role he’s ever had as a rugged, independent Scotsman forced to face his own mortality in the heartwarming The Etruscan Smile ... it is a universal story of love and family, life and death and birth that make this a true winner for everyone."
DEADLINE- Pete Hammond
“Based on José Luis Sampedro's best-selling novel, THE ETRUSCAN SMILE is the heart-wrenching directorial debut of Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun.... full of pain, love, life.... Brezis and Binnun offer little camera movement, making for simple shots that show the characters' emotional complexity.”
CHICAGO READER - Marissa De La Cerda
“One of THE ETRUSCAN SMILE's many strengths is that it brims with humanism. The filmmakers treat both the characters and the audience as human beings from start to finish. The actors, like the filmmakers, also grasp human nature.”
NYC MOVIE GURU - Avi Offer
“Cox is a wonder to watch, and seeing him in this gentle, vulnerable role, also spouting folk tales and seductions in ancient Scottish Gaelic, is a treat.”
LOS ANGELES TIMES - Katie Walsh
"Brian Cox gives one of his finest performances…
…Cox rages robustly and arrestingly against the dying of the light in “The Etruscan Smile….undeniably affecting coming-to-terms drama that may cause as much discomfort as delight for those who recognize bits and pieces of their own fathers (or themselves) in the cantankerous character Cox portrays so persuasively."
VARIETY - Joe Leydon
“Brian Cox plays a grizzled old Scotsman who stays healthy with nude swims off the Hebrides coast. He scandalizes snobs at ritzy events by wearing his kilt, teaches a linguist (Peter Coyote) Scottish slang, behaves like Crocodile Dundee, and falls in love with his baby grandson and museum curator Rosanna Arquette.... worth watching for Cox's bravura performance with some of the best grownup actors alive.”
AARP MOVIES FOR GROWNUPS - Tim Appelo
“Brian Cox fell in love with this story about family, damaged relationships and healing. He sees it as a heartfelt and moving story about the human experience.... audiences who have seen it, have embraced it.”
ABC7 LOS ANGELES - George Pennacchio
Download Press & Media Materials

Cast

BRIAN COX

Brian Cox is an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and one of Scotland’s most celebrated film and Shakespearean performers. His credits include Braveheart, Troy, Bourne, Woody Allen’s Match Point, Manhunter (playing Hannibal Lecter) and HBO's Succession. He portrayed LBJ in the recent Broadway play The Great Society.

ROSANNA ARQUETTE

Rosanna Arquette’s admirable career includes some of cinema’s most legendary films, from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Martin Scorsese's After Hours and Luc Besson’s The Big Blue. For her role in Desperately Seeking Susan she won a BAFTA award and was nominated for a Golden Globe.

JJ FEILD

JJ Feild’s notable credits include Last Orders starring opposite Helen Mirren and Michael Caine, Marvel’s Captain America as well as the critically acclaimed Third Star starring opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.

THORA BIRCH

Thora Birch rose to prominence as a child star in Patriot Games and Hocus Pocus, before her breakthrough in the Oscar winning film American Beauty and Ghost World, for which she received a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination.

PETER COYOTE

Peter Coyote’s career spans over 120 films with leading roles for Roman Polanski (Bitter Moon), Pedro Almodóvar (Kika), Diane Kurys (A Man in Love) and Steven Spielberg (E.T.).

TREAT WILLIAMS

Treat Williams is a Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominated American actor, who rose to fame for his leading role in Milos Forman's Hair.

FILMMAKERS

ARTHUR COHN
Producer
Eleanor Roosevelt once observed that “...the world belongs to the person brave enough to believe in the beauty of his dreams“. She could easily have been talking about the Swiss born, international filmmaker, Arthur Cohn, who has come to realize his dreams on screen for a worldwide audience over nearly four decades. All this while accumulating an astonishing six Academy Awards in recognition of his work – more than any other independent producer - and giving us film classics such as "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis", "Central Station", "One Day in September" and "The Chorus". Interestingly, and unlike many filmmakers whose best work is mostly concentrated within a particularly fertile period of their careers, Cohn’s projects have earned him time and again Oscar recognition and top prizes in the most respectable film festivals, reflecting over five decades of virtuosity and continuous quality filmmaking.
MIHAL BREZIS & ODED BINNUN
Directors
Mihal Brezis & Oded Binnun are Academy Awards Nominees for their short film AYA (nominated for “Best Live Action Short” in 2015). Aya has garnered exceptional recognition when being released commercially in theaters, stand-alone as a short, to audience and critical success. Their previous short films won over 40 international awards in festivals worldwide and were acquired by leading international broadcasters. The Etruscan Smile is their first full length feature film.
JAVIER AGUIRRESAROBE
Cinematographer
Javier Aguirresarobe is a master of light. In his extensive and acclaimed career he has worked with the world’s most recognized directors turning their films into magical visual feasts. His wide range of credits include celebrated titles such as Almodovar’s Talk to Her, Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine and Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Alejandro Amenabar’s Oscar winning film The Sea Inside. Javier is a six time recipient of the Goya Awards for Best Cinematography, as well as winner of outstanding artistic achievement at the Berlin Film Festival.

Virtual Cinema Engagements

Due to restrictions on social gatherings as a result of COVID-19, the 2020 U.S. theatrical roll out of THE ETRUSCAN SMILE could not take place as planned. During the months of April and May, Lightyear Entertainment instead presented virtual screenings of the film and split the "ticket" revenue with the following theater partners.

CITY STATE THEATER
Good Year AZ Cinema Society of PebbleCreek
Sedona AZ Mary D. Fisher Theatre
Tucson AZ Galaxy Theatres
Chico CA Pageant Theatre
Davis CA Davis Varsity Theatre
Hollywood CA Arena Cinelounge
Larkspur CA The Lark
Long Beach CA Art Theatre of Long Beach
Los Angeles CA Laemmle Virtual Cinema
Los Angeles CA Metropolitan Theatres
Monterey CA Osio Theater
Palm Springs CA Palm Springs Cultural Center
San Diego CA Cinema Society
San Francisco CA Cinema SF
San Rafael CA Rafael Film Center
Santa Barbara CA SBIFF Riviera Theatre
Sherman Oaks CA Galaxy Theatres
Sonoma CA Sebastiani Theatre
St. Helena CA Cameo Cinema
Torrance CA South Bay Film Society
Boulder CO Dairy Arts Center
Colorado Springs CO Kimball's Peak Three Theater
Corvalis CO Darkside Cinema
Denver CO Sie Film Center
Salida CO Salida Steam Plant Theater
Newton CT Edmond Town Hall
Washington DC Avalon Theatre
Washington DC JxJ
Lewes DE Cinema Art Theater
Middletown DE Westown Movies
Newark DE Main Street Movies 5
Bonita Springs FL Prado Stadium 12
Coral Gables FL Coral Gables Art Cinema
Delray Beach FL Movies of Delray
Fort Lauderdale FL Fort Lauderdale Int'l Film Festival
Lake Worth FL Movies of Lake Worth
Lakeland FL Polk Theatre
Maitland FL Enzian Theater
St. Augustine FL Corazon Cinema and Cafe
Tampa FL Tampa Theatre
Atlanta GA Lefont Film Society
Chicago IL Gene Siskel Film Center
Wilmette IL The Wilmette Theatre
Alexandria IN Alex Theatre
Frankfort IL Emagine Entertainment
Lawrence KS Liberty Hall Cinema
Overland Park KS Fine Arts Theatres
Salina KS Salina Art Cinema
Brookline MA Coolidge Corner
Provincetown MA Waters Edge Cinema
Dover-Foxcroft ME Center Theatre for the Performing Arts
Rockland ME Strand Theatre
Ann Arbor MI The Michigan Theater
Detroit MI Cinema Detroit
Farmington MI Farmington Civic Theater
Grand Rapids MI Celebration Cinema
Gross Pointe Farms MI Patriot Theater
Iron Mountain MI Braumart Theater
Three Oaks MI Vickers Theatre
Traverse City MI State Theatre
Troy MI Emagine Entertainment
Minneapolis MN MSP Film Society
Minneapolis MN The Parkway Theater
Plymouth MN Emagine Entertainment
Oxford MS Oxford Film Festival
Vicksburg MS Strand Theatre
Billings MT Art House Cinema & Pub
Asheville NC Grail Moviehouse
Chapel Hill NC Chelsea Theater
Southern Pines NC Sunrise Theater
Winston Salem NC Aperture Cinema
Lincoln NE Ross Media Arts Center
Princeton NJ Princeton Garden Theatre
Albuquerque NM Guild Cinema
Santa Fe NM Jean Cocteau Cinema
Taos NM Taos Center for the Arts
Las Vegas NV Eclipse Theaters
Las Vegas NV Galaxy Theatres
Beacon NY Story Screen
Buffalo NY Dipson Theatres
Buffalo NY North Park Theatre
Great Neck NY Gold Coast Art Center
Huntington NY Cinema Arts Centre
Ithaca NY Cinemapolis
Millerton NY The Moviehouse
New York NY Symphony Space
Newburgh NY Downing Film Center
Pelham NY The Picture House
Pleasantville NY Jacob Burns Film Center
Cincinatti OH Cincinnati Word Cinema
Cleveland OH Cleveland Cinema
Columbus OH The Drexel Theatre
Dayton OH The Neon
Astoria OR Liberty Theatre
Eugene OR Broadway Metro
North Bend OR North Bend Theatre
Salem OR Salem Cinema
Ambler PA Ambler Theater
Bethlehem PA ArtsQuest Center
Doylestown PA County Theater
Harrisburg PA Midtown Cinema
Jenkintown PA Hiway Theater
Sewickley PA The Tull Family Theater
Towanda PA Bradford Regional Arts Council
Tunkhannock PA Dietrich Theater
Warren PA Dipson Theatres
Beaufort SC USCB Center for the Arts
Charleston SC Terrace Theater
Hilton Head Island SC Park Plaza Cinema
Sioux Falls SC Sioux Falls Theatre
Austin TX Galaxy Theatres
Belton TX Grand Avenue Theater
Canadian TX Palace Theatre
Dallas TX Studio Movie Grill
Fairfax VA Cinema Arts Theatres
Harrisonburg VA Court Square Theater
Norfolk VA Naro Expanded Cinema
Richmond VA The Byrd Theatre
Roanoke VA The Grandin Theatre
Staunton VA Visulite Cinema
Camas WA Liberty Theatre
Monroe WA Galaxy Theatres
Orcas Island WA Orcas Island Film Festival
Vancouver WA Kiggins Theatre
CANADA Landmark Cinemas
Montreal QC Cinema du Parc