Upstream Color is a 2013 American science fiction drama film written, directed, produced, edited, composed, designed, cast by and starring Shane Carruth. The film is the second feature directed by Carruth, best known for his 2004 debut Primer. Upstream Color stars Amy Seimetz, Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, and Thiago Martins.
Upstream Color is about two people whose lives and behaviors are affected by a complex parasite—without knowing it—that has a three-stage life cycle in which it passes from humans to pigs to orchids. "A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives."
