ESCAPES

Directed by Michael Almereyda (Experimenter) and executive produced by Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Escapes blazes a wild path through mid-20th-century Hollywood via the experiences of Hampton Fancher – flamenco dancer, actor, and the unlikely producer and screenwriter of the landmark sci-fi classic Blade Runner. (Fancher also penned the story for its sequel, Blade Runner 2049.)

A consummate raconteur, Fancher recounts episodes from his remarkable life — romantic misadventures with silver-screen stars, wayward acts of chivalry, jealousy, and friendship — matched with a parallel world of film and TV footage wherein Fancher plays cowboys, killers, fops, cads, and the occasional hero.

Equal parts dense and fleet, Escapes shows how one man’s personal journey can unexpectedly shape a medium’s future.

* Official Selection, BAMcinemaFest

“Critic’s Pick! A thoroughly charming, thoroughly engaging portrait of this great adventurer... Part of the pleasure of Escapes is how Mr. Almereyda, drawing deeply from the American pop archives (comics, old movies and television), connects the original Blade Runner to Mr. Fancher’s life with its movie love, romanticism, beautiful women and mad, circuitous rides. It's a liberating take... Escapes dodges the dreary obligations of the standard documentary profile to become an exploration of life as (if we’re lucky) a long, endlessly inventive tale."
— Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Candid, informative and delightful. A singular film.”
– Kenneth Turan, LA Times

“Brilliant. Escapes is a stand-out.”
– Hyperallergic

Starred Review! "Fittingly, this isn't a standard biopic but an expressionistic collage of black-and-white and color film and television clips and comic-book images set against Fancher's incredible stories."
- Booklist

"Hampton Fancher has worlds falling out of his sleeves. His irresistible voice, with all its surreal U-turns, has been spectacularly netted by Almereyda."
— Jonathan Lethem (author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude)