A Marriage Behind Concrete, Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz Bring Bunker to AFI Fest

Bunker, Florian Zeller’s marital thriller starring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, screens at AFI Fest on Thursday, October 22, at 6:30 p.m. in Chinese 6 at the TCL Chinese Theatre, followed by a conversation with Zeller.

An architect is paid to design a hiding place for the very rich, and his marriage is the thing that cracks. The AFI Fest film page says the screening will be followed by a conversation with Zeller, whom it credits as director and screenwriter. It does not list any cast members as guests, so Bardem and Cruz should not be expected in the room unless the festival says otherwise.

What Bunker Is About

Bunker follows a married couple in London. In AFI’s description, Bardem plays Miguel, an architect who is offered a job by a tech billionaire, played by Paul Dano, to build a survivalist bunker for wealthy friends. Cruz plays his wife Sofia, an editor, who sees the deal as a “Faustian bargain.”

The pressure builds from two more directions. A working-class neighbor, played by Stephen Graham, tests the household, and Sofia takes on a new client, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger. AFI calls the film a “taut character drama” about class, the future and ecological disaster. The festival’s lineup announcement adds that the couple has been married 17 years and that the billionaire wants the bunker for himself and his oligarch friends.

What Critics Said at Venice

Bunker played the Venice Film Festival in September, and the reviews from the Lido split on the script while agreeing on the leads. Ben Croll wrote in TheWrap on September 8 that “Caustic, if never quite a comedy, ‘Bunker’ builds ambient unease toward a more violent third act.”

He also found fault with the film’s tone. “If anything, the film’s greatest fault lies in indecision, in its less-than-successful toggling between two modes it can never quite mesh,” Croll wrote.

Time Out was warmer. Lou Thomas gave the film four stars out of five on the same day. “Naturally, Bardem and Cruz have great chemistry and their scenes together crackle with meaning,” he wrote.

He flagged the ending too. “An unexpected and terrifying incident in the final act stretches credulity, but Zeller’s third film is a thoughtful drama with real wit and intelligence,” Thomas wrote.

Who Florian Zeller Is

Zeller is a French novelist, playwright and filmmaker. According to AFI, his first film, The Father, adapted from his own play, won two Oscars in 2021, for Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. His second, The Son, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. Bunker is his third feature, and he wrote and directed it.

AFI credits Ben Smithard as director of photography, Volker Bertelmann with the music and Yorgos Lamprinos as editor. The film runs 126 minutes, is in English and Spanish and is a production of France and Spain.

When It Reaches Theaters

Sony Pictures Classics holds North American rights. FilmNation posted the July report that the distributor “has just acquired North American, Southeast Asian, and worldwide Airline rights (excluding France).” The same report says an Oscar campaign is planned, with a qualifying run at the end of 2026 and a wider release in early 2027. Pathé will distribute the film in France, Switzerland and West Africa, with FilmNation handling international sales.

That makes Thursday’s slot an early look for Los Angeles ahead of the awards season. Bunker is one of 12 special screenings in this year’s festival, alongside Pedro Pascal’s Behemoth! conversation on Friday. The festival opened Wednesday with Wildwood, and an hour after Bunker begins, Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl has its world premiere in the same building.

Practical Details

Bunker screens Thursday, October 22, at 6:30 p.m. in Chinese 6 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, followed by a conversation with Florian Zeller. The page does not list prices. Tickets and passes are sold through the AFI Fest site at fest.afi.com.