Olivia Wilde premiered “The Invite” at the Locarno Film Festival, where she addressed audiences at Piazza Grande and reflected on the film’s journey to theatrical release. Wilde expressed gratitude for the opportunity to showcase the film on one of the world’s largest cinema screens, noting it marked the European premiere and would likely be the only occasion for such an exhibition scale.
During a press conference at the festival, Wilde discussed her advocacy for theatrical distribution in an industry landscape that often discourages it. She emphasized the value of live audience reaction, describing how viewers find cathartic laughter in the material. Wilde credited her film’s financier with enabling her to pursue theatrical release rather than accept alternative distribution arrangements.
The film, which stars Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton, has been characterized as a successful summer comedy. It centers on two couples whose dinner party gathering leads to relationship complications. Wilde described the project as deeply collaborative, involving extensive workshopping with the cast and screenwriters. She noted the film represents an adaptation of the Spanish film “Sentimental” and joins international versions created by Swiss-German, French, Italian, and South Korean filmmakers.
Wilde positioned the work as a love letter to influential independent cinema directors including John Cassavetes, Mike Nichols, Paul Mazursky, Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Nora Ephron, and Agnès Varda. Despite exploring darker narrative territory, she emphasized comedy as the film’s foundation, suggesting that humor allows audiences to process difficult emotional content through shared laughter. Wilde characterized the filmmaking process itself as joyful and highlighted the importance of finding levity within tragic elements as a means of survival and connection.
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