Chilean filmmaker Alicia Scherson (Play, SFIFF 2005) returns to the San Francisco International Film Festival with her third feature, Il futuro, an adaptation of the late Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño's novella, Una novelita lumpen. Devastated by the loss of their parents, newly orphaned teens Bianca and Tomás face an uncertain future. Despite a slight physique, Tomás dreams of becoming a bodybuilder and befriends two personal trainers, Libian and Bolognan. The two new acquaintances soon move in with the siblings and while they bring a semblance of structure to the chaotic household, they also offer an opportunity the brother and sister seemingly can't refuse: scamming a wealthy recluse and former action-movie star named Maciste (Rutger Hauer). Framed as a crime drama, Il futuro is much more. It's also an engrossing meditation on Italy's moviemaking past through Maciste's sword-and-sandal career, a provocative exploration of the inevitably corrosive effects of time on the body and long-term relationships, and a sensual, melancholic examination of a young woman's unpredictable journey into self-awareness and maturity.