Bethany and Nel have an inextricable pull toward one another, and this trip is yet another chance for them to blow up their lives. (Hence the title: “Eruption,” in English.) For the Charli-watchers, it’s a chance to see her play a mostly regular gal with chaotic impulses but no pop star sheen. Erupcja is filmed guerrilla style and generally has a loose, unvarnished quality that strips XCX down, making her seem like just another lost, poetry-quoting soul.
Her other TIFF project is a bit more of a splashy, star-packed affair. Sacrifice is the first English-language film from director Romain Gavras, who directed 2022’s Athena, a galvanizing film about police violence. Gavras—who, by the way, once dated Charli collaborator Dua Lipa—cowrote Sacrifice with Will Arbery, an acclaimed playwright who worked on Succession.
The film takes place at an environmental conference in Greece. An actor best known for action movies, played in a bit of a meta role by Chris Evans, is hoping to use his attendance as a brand-building exercise to make himself seem more serious. But soon the event is interrupted by a doomsday cult led by Anya Taylor-Joy, who wants to save the world by throwing famous people in a volcano. (Yes, this is the second Charli XCX movie that references volcanos.) Charli is part of a cast that also includes Salma Hayek Pinault, John Malkovich, and another musician-turned-actor, Swedish rapper Yung Lean. For those keeping track on your Charli Collaborators board at home, Sacrifice additionally features Jeremy O. Harris, who is also in Erupcja. (Gavras has music bona fides as well: He directed the videos for M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” and “No Church in the Wild” by Jay-Z and Kanye West.)
And if that’s not enough big screen Charli for you, there’s her film at Venice, 100 Nights of Hero, based on the graphic novel of the same name. In a teaser, XCX is shown seductively strumming a lute-type instrument. It’s a medieval tale in which a woman (Maika Monroe) and her lover (Emma Corrin) try to distract a suitor (Nicholas Galitzine) by telling him a series of stories. She also has four more films in postproduction, including one directed by Gregg Arakilatest and another opposite Natalie Portman. So if you like movies as much as Charli, you’re going to have to get used to her being in them.
