The True Adventures of Wolfboy is a 2019 American coming-of-age film directed by Martin Krejčí and written by Olivia Dufault. The film stars Jaeden Martell, Chris Messina, Eve Hewson, Chloë Sevigny, John Turturro, Nick Pulinski, and introduces Sophie Giannamore as Artistiana. It tells the story of a teenage boy with hypertrichosis who leaves home to find his mother while befriending a "mermaid" transgender girl.
The True Adventures of Wolfboy | |
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Directed by | Martin Krejčí |
Screenplay by | Olivia Dufault |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Andrew Droz Palermo |
Edited by | Joseph Krings |
Music by | Nick Urata |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Vertical Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,189 |
It had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on July 2, 2019, and was released on October 30, 2020, by Vertical Entertainment.
A teenage boy named Paul Harker (Jaeden Martell) has a skin condition that causes his skin to grow werewolf-like fur and hair all around it. He runs away from home and his father Denny (Chris Messina) in the search for his estranged mother.[1] After a brief stint with the exploiting amusement park owner Mr. Silk (John Turturro) in order to fund his travels, Paul befriends a "mermaid" transgender girl and an aspiring singer named Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore) who becomes his companion as Denny, Mr. Silk, and Detective Pollok (Michelle Wilson) each pursue him.
Principal photography for the film began in mid-September 2017 in the Buffalo Niagara Region.[1][2]
It had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on July 2, 2019.[3][4] In September 2020, Vertical Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. They released it on October 30, 2020.[5]
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics' consensus reads, "The True Adventures of Wolfboy can be frustratingly uneven, but a worthy story and compassion for its characters help make this coming-of-age story's flaws easy to forgive."[6] Albert Nowicki of Filmawka called the film "charming", and believed it should be applauded for its inclusion of both the transgender character (Aristiana) and trans actress (Sophie Giannamore).[7]
The True Adventures of Wolfboy was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Limited Release).[8]