"Meek's Cutoff," from acclaimed director Kelly Reichardt ("Wendy and Lucy," "Old Joy"), is a stark and poetic drama set in 1845, the earliest days of the treacherous Oregon Trail. A wagon train of three families (including two-time Academy Award® nominee Michelle Williams) has hired mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a shortcut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst, and their own lack of faith in each others' instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as their natural born enemy. "Meek’s Cutoff: plays as part of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair. Co-presented by the American Cinematheque, Bleak Week spotlights a diverse lineup of films that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. What began as a Los Angeles-based festival expands this year to 73 cities around the world, including San Diego's Digital Gym Cinema! Founded in 2022, 'Bleak Week' is an annual weeklong festival where audiences can celebrate and experience some of the most challenging works of arthouse cinema. Each June, ‘Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair’ spotlights a diverse lineup of films that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. Digital Gym Cinema is proud to be a participating cinema in the expanded fifth edition of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair which runs from June 5 through June 11. Digital Gym Cinema on Facebook / Instagram
