Casey Affleck’s ‘Company’ Finds a European Welcome as U.S. Festivals Keep Their Distance

Casey Affleck’s new film “Company” is headed to the Venice Film Festival in competition, but the film’s festival trajectory is looking markedly elsewhere.

The gothic mystery, Affleck’s third feature as a director, will have its world premiere in Venice, where it is competing for the Golden Lion alongside films from Danny Boyle, Martin McDonagh, Lee Chang-dong and Werner Herzog. The Venice selection is a significant vote of confidence in the film: the festival has scheduled “Company” for multiple screenings beginning September 8.

Yet despite that prestigious launch, “Company” has so far failed to land a berth at any of the major North American fall festivals — let alone a US distributor. It was not announced by Toronto, Telluride or the New York Film Festival, and, at this stage, there is no announced regional U.S. festival destination for the film either.

That absence is particularly striking given the film’s profile. “Company” stars Nick Nolte, Ben Mendelsohn, Adelaide Clemens and Scoot McNairy, and is being sold internationally by AGC. Its story — a mysterious traveler recounting interlocking tales of grief, vengeance, forgiveness and human connection — has the sort of prestige-festival positioning that would ordinarily make it a natural candidate for the fall circuit. Apparently, not in the US.

Instead, Europe is opening its doors.

Only days after Venice, “Company” will travel to the Deauville American Film Festival, where it has been placed directly in competition. The film has also been selected for the Zurich Film Festival, where it will screen in the Gala Premieres section.

The contrast has prompted questions among festival insiders about whether Affleck’s long-running #MeToo controversy is playing a role in the film’s reception in North America. A source close to a European festival tells me: “It’s a strong film. The reasons are clear why it hasn’t been selected.”

The comment stops short of explicitly identifying those reasons, but it comes against the backdrop of a controversy that has followed Affleck for years. In 2010, two women who worked on “I’m Still Here” filed sexual-harassment lawsuits against Affleck. Both cases were ultimately settled out of court. The allegations resurfaced prominently during the 2016-17 awards season as Affleck campaigned for “Manchester by the Sea,” for which he eventually won the Academy Award for Best Actor. It’s no stretch to say they have damaged hid career.

Affleck addressed the controversy publicly during the #MeToo era. In a 2018 interview with the Associated Press, he acknowledged that the set of “I’m Still Here” had been an “unprofessional environment” and said he had contributed to it, adding that he regretted his behavior and his tolerance of others’ conduct.

For someone who won the Best Actor Oscar a decade ago, Affleck’s post-Oscar career has been relatively subdued—unless you count his roughly two minutes of screen time in “Oppenheimer.” Over the past ten years, his acting credits have largely consisted of little-seen indies, including “Our Friend,” “Every Breath You Take,” “Dreamin’ Wild,” and “Slingshot.” His only major studio film during that stretch was “The Instigators,” which went straight to streaming on Apple TV+.

Affleck’s last directorial effort, 2019’s “Light of My Life,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, faced scrutiny. The Independent suggested that the film’s placement in the Panorama sidebar, rather than the main competition, reflected the baggage surrounding Affleck. At the Berlin press conference, a Variety journalist directly confronted Affleck about the allegations, while The Playlist similarly described the film as being undermined by Affleck’s real-life circumstances.

For now, “Company” is entering the fall through Venice, Deauville and Zurich, while its home continent remains conspicuously absent from the itinerary. The film’s reception in Venice may ultimately determine whether that changes. But as the festival season begins, the pattern is difficult to miss.