In the new Netflix film Bionic, the year is 2035 and the world has been transformed by technology. In this dystopian future, bionic prosthetics dominate society and lead two sisters down a sinister path. When the progress of robotics makes Paralympic athletes the new sports stars, Maria dreams of competing against her sister. For that, she will have to enter a world of crime and violence.

The film features Jessica Córes, Bruno Gagliasso, Christian Malheiros, Gabz, and Klebber Toledo in the cast and is directed by Afonso Poyart and written by Josefina Trotta.

This is one of those “watch this space” films, where a bunch of up and comers are trying to break through the glass ceiling into the majors. It features actors and other creative performers you probably haven’t encountered before, using a somewhat well worn trope because it takes so long to get a production mounted and completed that the trope has had time to age a bit since they came up with the idea. Still, we must salute the creative skills that go into a film like this, and the pure courage and enthusiasm it takes to actually get to the finish line and get distribution on Netflix. The film has to at least be worth a watch, and might be especially interesting for budding filmmakers and other creators.

There are some gems among the cast, though. For example, the role of Jayson is played by Kagga Jayson (obviously the character was named for the actor). Jayson also appeared as James in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. He’s a Ugandan media personality, musician, DJ, YouTuber and Podcaster. He was first a YouTuber with a channel and became a podcaster in the year 2021 with his podcast The Upside Down Podcast by Jayson K aka the UDP which has over 18,000 monthly listeners. He later got a Spotify Video Exclusive offer from Spotify for Podcasters and has 1Million views across the internet and he released the album mirrors on YouTube and Vevo. If this seems like coming into show business through the side door, remember that Awkwafina started not as an actress, but on YouTube as a rapper.

The lead actress, Jessica Córes, took the more direct route as a singer and actress, mostly in Portugese film and television, and already has an impressive list of credits going back to 2008. appearing in four films and nine television series.

Director Afonso Poyart was born in 1979 in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. He is a director and writer, known for Two Rabbits (2012), Mais Forte que o Mundo: A História de José Aldo (2016) and Solace (2015).

Screenwriter Josefina Trotta was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is creator and head writer of the Amazon Original Drama series September Mornings (2021). As a writer is also known for the Netflix Original sci-fi feature Bionicos (2024) and the film My Name is Baghdad (2022) winner of the Berlinale Generation 14plus Crystal Bear.

Bionic premieres on May 29.