Luca Guadagnino‘s Queer, one of the most closely-watched offerings set to debut next month at the Venice Film Festival, features two artists among its stars: painter Michaël Borremans and sculptor Andra Ursuta.
A representative for David Zwirner gallery, which represents both artists, confirmed that Borremans and Ursuta appear in the film, whose cast also includes Daniel Craig and Omar Apollo. It remains unclear, however, what roles they play in it.
Based on a 1985 novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs, Queer features a man wandering around 1940s Mexico City who falls for a drug-addicted Navy serviceman. Its screenplay is written by Justin Kuritzkes, whose last film, Challengers, was also directed by Guadagnino.
Borremans is known for his figurative paintings done in muted palettes; Ursuta’s sculptures dealing with topics ranging from bodily transformation to misogyny have been shown widely. Neither artist has had an extensive acting career.
But Borremans appears to have a known connection to Guadagnino—both appeared on an episode of a David Zwirner podcast together last year, and the two reconvened this year for a conversation for Interview. That publication reported at the time that Borremans had been “rumored” to have a cameo in Queer.
Some of Guadagnino’s films have other art connections: Elizabeth Peyton did the poster for Bones and All, and Suspiria featured allusions to works by feminist artists such as Gina Pane and Ana Mendieta, whose estate ended up suing the movie’s distributor over these references.
