Maya Dardel

Maya Dardel is a 2017 drama film written and directed by Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak, starring Lena Olin, Jordan Gavaris, Alexander Koch, Nathan Keyes, and Rosanna Arquette.^[1]

Maya Dardel
Directed by	Zachary Cotler Magdalena Zyzak
Written by	Zachary Cotler Magdalena Zyzak
Produced by	Craig R. Johnson Mike S. Ryan Morgan Jon Fox Dariusz Jablonski Violetta Kaminska Izabela Wojcik
Starring	Lena Olin Jordan Gavaris Alexander Koch Nathan Keyes Rosanna Arquette
Cinematography	Patrick Scola
Edited by	Osman Bayraktaroglu
Music by	Zachary Cotler
Production companies	The Winter Film Company Greyshack Films Message Film
Distributed by	Samuel Goldwyn Films Orion Pictures
Release dates	March 12, 2017 (2017-03-12) (South by Southwest) October 27, 2017 (2017-10-27) (United States)
Running time	104 minutes
Countries	United States Poland
Language	English

It premiered in the Narrative Competition at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival and was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Orion Pictures.^[2]

Plot

The film portrays the final weeks leading to the ambiguous disappearance of Maya Dardel, an internationally respected poet and novelist of Scandinavian origins, who has been living as a recluse for decades high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Maya announces on National Public Radio that she intends to end her life and that young male writers may compete to become executor of her estate. Men drive up the mountain and are challenged intellectually, emotionally, and erotically, until one of them begins to fathom Maya's end game.^[3]

Cast

• Lena Olin - Maya
• Alexander Koch – Paul
• Nathan Keyes – Ansel
• Jordan Gavaris – Kevin
• Rosanna Arquette – Leonora

Accolades

Cotler and Zyzak received Best Director for Maya Dardel at the 2017 Raindance Film Festival.^[4]

The film won two awards at the 2017 Prague Independent Film Festival – Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Lena Olin).^[5][6]