Aspiring actress Gemma leaves behind her small town and moves to LA. Upon discovering the harsh reality of pounding the pavement in Hollywood, from failed auditions to a dwindling bank account, Gemma desperately takes a position at a dream studies lab, Somnium. After accidentally meeting a producer, things are looking up. Until her graveyard shift, severe lack of sleep, and the discovery of questionable lab practices, cause her new life to shift into a waking nightmare. Read More →
PSYCHE
Stephon Stewart brings his sci-fi horror mashup, PSYCHE, to Popcorn Frights 2025. The film finds Mara awakening in a mysterious wasteland alongside an 80s computer, named Pi, persuading her to complete six levels of gameplay.
Pi acts as both guide and companion. As Mara stumbles from one mysterious level to the next, the computer program fights with itself, sending several new voices to counter Pi’s words. Can Mara persist in this seemingly unknown?
Editor Gibran Lozano provides the distinct computer voices. They range from adorable to menacing. Bravo. Sarah Ritter is charming, determined, and understandably hotheaded considering the infuriating and fickle interactions with the computer. She has a presence ripe for genre queendom.
The film’s visuals are mesmerizing. Stewart’s uses black and white negative landscape and mindbending limbo images in Mara’s journey. The sets resemble the remnants of tornado-ravaged areas, arid badlands, and a post-apocalyptic shoreline, all seamlessly intertwined. DP Aitor Uribarri does unforgettable work with the camera. Tom Hawk‘s score is haunting. It has an epic feeling akin to 80s fantasy classics. The script is incredibly complex. The entire filmmaking team should be proud.
The evolution of the game is a pathway to trauma release for Mara. Pi triggers memory fragments, guilt, anger, and suicidal ideation.
PSYCHE is an experimental therapy session that will undoubtedly strike a nerve for viewers. It is unique and yet entirely timeless. PSYCHE is a must-see.
YEAR: 2024
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 71 mins
DIRECTOR: Stephon Stewart
WRITER: Stephon Stewart
STARRING: Sarah Ritter, Eva Ariel Binder, Rodrigo Varandas
TERRESTRIAL
Opening with a bang, Steve Pink‘s Fantasia 2025 film, TERRESTRIAL, has landed. It follows a sci-fi writer who is about to fulfill his dreams with a book and movie deal. Alan invites his college friends to his new mansion in the Hollywood Hills to celebrate his good fortune, but something feels off.
In his driveway, stands a large, striped termite-tented structure. Alan is seemingly obsessed with checking on it. There is no denying Alan’s overall behavior feels body-snatched, from moment to moment. He is hiding something big. End of Act 1, twenty-nine minutes in, and holy shit, a WTF moment.
The house contains an entire room dedicated to his favorite sci-fi series and writer, S. J. Purcell. It is all very H. P. Lovecraft coded. The classic television show becomes an ingrained part of Alan’s personality and plan. Screenwriters Connor Diedrich and Samuel Johnson feature the episodes running in the background, often informing Alan’s decision-making.
The three-act structure keeps you guessing. A flashback sets up a wild and wacky backstory, putting every assumption you have in jeopardy. Each subsequent decision Alan makes is born out of desperation and delusion. It is pure, heart-pounding, cinematic chaos.
Brendan Hunt is hilarious as Purcell. His character is undeniably shady, and Hunt nails each beat. His chemistry with Jermaine Fowler is magic. James Morosini (I LOVE MY DAD) plays absolute douch-canoe, Ryan. Harboring major jealousy and an inferiority complex, his aggressive approach pushes Alan to his breaking point.
Edy Modica, who killed it in JURY DUTY, plays Vic. She is hilarious with her self-absorbed approach to the visit. Upon discovering a mysterious note, Modica’s motivation shifts, really showcasing her immense talent.
Jermaine Fowler (STING and THE DROP) plays Alan with a passionate, fanboy enthusiasm that is infectious. You fall in love with him while simultaneously fearing his ever-evolving manic behavior. This performance is a multifaceted freight train propelled by panic and survival mode. It is award-worthy.
The synth score is perfect. At times, the camerawork is reminiscent of Psycho. The film gets darker and more twisted in its final act. TERRESTRIAL is completely unhinged and out of this world amazing.
Terrestrial Teaser Trailer:
Steve Pink
Josh Jason, Molly Gilula, Molly Conners, AJ Bourscheid, Austin Lantero, Rachel Walden, Pauline Chalamet, Luca Balser
Connor Diedrich, Samuel Johnson
Jermaine Fowler, James Morosini, Pauline Chalamet, Edy Modica, Rob Yang, Brendan Hunt TERRESTRIAL
For all things Fantasia, click here!Fantasia 2025The literal moment a certain NYC festival closes, I begin to get hyped for Fantasia. If you are a genre nerd like I am, this is the festival that I’m talking about all year. Home of upcoming filmmakers that ultimately become household names, Fantasia boasts some of the coolest, scariest, weirdest, goriest, and most shocking films of the year. At least three consistently make it into my annual Top 10. The Adams Family‘s latest bit of macabre magic, MOTHER OF FLIES, Michel Gondry‘s animated feature MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE, and filmmaking team Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall return, having expanded their 2022 short LUCID into a feature. If you want a guaranteed good time filled with new and inventive films, Fantasia 2025 has more than you can handle. Here are just a few films we’ve got our eyes on this year. Fantasia 2025
TOUCH ME Fantasia 2025
![Touch Me (2025) - [www.imdb.com]](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Touch-Me-2025-www.imdb_.com_.png?resize=678%2C473&ssl=1)
Writer/director Addison Heinmann follows up his 2022 Fantasia hit HYPOCHONDRIAC with Touch Me.
The path to peace and happiness is an arduous one for Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley of THE MAGICIANS, SHE DIES TOMORROW and CRAWLSPACE), as she also needs to navigate her shitty best friend Craig (Jordan Gavaris of HACKS and ORPHAN BLACK) and her cosmically problematic ex-boyfriend Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci of the 2013 EVIL DEAD and SPRING). To make matters worse, Joey and Craig are forced back into the grasp of the openly alien-jumpsuit-wearing ex who dispenses a euphoric toxin to all those he touches. The two dysfunctional slackers descend into a strange love triangle filled with dependence, violence, intoxication, and tentacles. But once the narcissistic alien’s motives take shape, a web of lies is revealed and a nefarious, Earth-threatening plan may be on the horizon.
MOTHER OF FLIES
When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods… but every cure has costs. Written and directed by John and Zelda Adams and Toby Poser (The Adams Family), who also star, shot, edited, and scored, MOTHER OF FLIES is the latest creation from the filmmaking family behind such singular landmarks as THE DEEPER YOU DIG, HELLBENDER, and WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, each of which has World Premiered at Fantasia. Described by the filmmakers as their fairytale manipulation of the darkly shadowed, yet love-lined pathways between a human life and death, MOTHER OF FLIES is an extraordinary work of personal genre storytelling, gestated through the family’s own experiences battling and surviving cancer. It stands with the strongest of their work, a poetic, haunting, and moving film that glows with otherworldly imagination, exploring the concept of necromancy in connection with two women who have very intimate relationships with death.
World Premiere. Fantasia 2025
IT ENDS
In one of 2025’s major genre breakouts, four college friends find themselves on an infinite, unending road, forcing each of them to decide how to confront their fate in an unnerving journey into the unknown. Writer/director Alex Ullom and his gifted cast work miracles and offer a compelling, constantly intriguing, and often terrifying road trip into adulthood. Official Selection: SXSW 2025, Overlook 2025.
International Premiere. Fantasia 2025
REDUX REDUX Fantasia 2025
Desperate to avenge her daughter’s murder, Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) journeys through parallel dimensions to repeatedly track down and annihilate her killer (Jeremy Holm). A tense sci-fi vengeance thriller unlike any other, REDUX REDUX is the latest creation by Kevin and Matthew McManus, the Peabody award-winning writers and producers of AMERICAN VANDAL and COBRA KAI, and writers/directors of FUNERAL KINGS (Fantasia 2012) and THE BLOCK ISLAND SOUND (Fantasia 2020). Official Selection: SXSW 2025. Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival 2025.
Canadian Premiere. Fantasia 2025
MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE Fantasia 2025
In high demand for his cleverness and creativity, French director Michel Gondry (THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP, BE KIND REWIND, and legendary music videos for the likes of Björk, Daft Punk, and the White Stripes) is often away from home for work. To keep connected with his beloved daughter Maya, he made nightly calls with requests for story titles, to prompt quick, rough little animations crafted with colored paper, markers, and scissors, always starring Maya herself, with MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE assembling an assortment of these little vignettes. Whether she’s a mermaid, a ship’s captain, an earthquake investigator, or just herself shrunk by “cucumber-reducing solution”, Maya’s tales are told in true Gondry style—wry, inventive, and tactile, favoring the excitement of process over polished final product. Oh, and it’s all voiced and narrated by Pierre Niney, star of last year’s Fantasia hit THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO!
My First Fantasia and Animation Plus Sections. North American Premiere. Fantasia 2025
NESTING Fantasia 2025
A familiar name to Fantasia audiences, Chloé Cinq-Mars returns to the festival with her debut feature, NESTING (PEAU À PEAU). Delving into the quiet horrors of early motherhood, the film opens with a scream in the night. Pénélope (Rose-Marie Perreault, FAKE TATTOOS), a new mother grappling with sleep deprivation and postpartum depression, finds herself unable to separate dream from reality. After witnessing a violent hold-up in a convenience store, her already fragile psyche begins to crack. Sensitive and haunting, NESTING offers an intimate, unsettling portrait of a mother unraveling. Perreault delivers a career-defining performance, capturing Pénélope’s disintegration and tender attempts at self-reclamation. Denied the idealized “glow” of new motherhood, she’s left to drift in darkness, slowly losing her grip on reality. What emerges is a chilling and deeply human exploration of identity, isolation, and the aching silence surrounding maternal mental health.
Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois Section. World Premiere. Fantasia 2025
ANYTHING THAT MOVES Fantasia 2025
80 mins | 2025 | USA | English Fantasia 2025
Synopsis: An avant-gutter psychedelic dream, ANYTHING THAT MOVES is an erotically charged, blood-soaked thriller set in the sticky corridors of Chicago. Shot on fleshy Super 16mm, director Alex Phillips’ rust belt giallo continues on his trajectory of taboo-shattering horror cinema with this tense, funny, and absolutely twisted murder mystery. The film follows nubile sex worker Liam who bikes with his girlfriend—his partner in both business and pleasure—through the city delivering snacks and divine satisfaction to his love-hungry clients. Meanwhile, a serial killer’s gory murders are piling up and all the evidence seems to point back to the lover’s bed… Produced in collaboration with cult home video outfit Vinegar Syndrome, the film features stand-out supporting performances from erotic film legends Ginger Lynn (The Devil’s Rejects) and Nina Hartley (Boogie Nights). With an original instrumental score by Chicago-based artists Cue Shop calling to mind the lush orchestrations of Bruno Nicolai and lurid visuals by acclaimed cinematographer Hunter Zimny (The Scary of Sixty-First, Funny Pages), ANYTHING THAT MOVES provides an immersive throwback to 70s exploitation flicks.
World Premiere: Fri July 25, 9:30pm, Salle J.A. De Seve
Tue July 29, 11:45am, Salle J.A. De Seve
Written and Directed By: Alex Phillips
Introducing: Hal Baum, Jeremy Everett, Andrea Huber, Maxton Koc, Jiana Nicole, Jade Perry and Cooper Whittlesey
Featuring: Ginger Lynn Allen, Trevor Dawkins, Jack Dunphy, Paul Gordon, Nina Hartley and Frank V. Ross
LUCID Fantasia 2025
After coming to Fantasia as a short film selected for the Frontierés Market Shorts to Features Lab in 2022 and Sitges Fanpitch that same year, directing duo Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall expand the world of Mia Sunshine Jones in their darkly trippy feature, LUCID. Mia is a rebellious art student who struggles to create the ultimate project for a demanding professor. Desperate to find her artistic voice, she takes Lucid, a candy elixir, to access her creativity, but taps into something much darker. Starring Caitlin Acken Taylor, who reprises her role from the short, and Georgia Acken (star of the 2023 Fantasia hit THE SACRIFICE GAME), Milligan and Fendall create a surreal nightmare with a vintage look that fully embraces the 90s grunge era with a punk art aesthetic. Using live on-set music, an eclectic cast, and loads of experimental and haunting visuals, the World Premiere of LUCID will be a nightmare-come-true.
World Premiere at Fantasia, feature debut, July 31
The film is co-written and directed by actor turned filmmaker Deanna Milligan (21 Jump Street, The X-Files) and cinematographer turned director/writer Ramsey Fendall (Ethan Hawke’s Seymour: An Introduction).
Cast: Caitlin Acken Taylor (Pistol) and Georgia Acken (Under the Bridge, The Sacrifice Game), Vivian Vanderpuss from RuPaul’s Drag Race is in the film and also designed the Hair Monster and Ayla Tesler Mabe one of the Goth Girls a is a real life guitar god! She has been featured in Rolling Stone and formerly part of the band Calpurnia with Finn Wolfhard.
FOREIGNER Fantasia 2025
For her debut feature film, FOREIGNER, Ava Maria Safai (Zip) expertly harnesses the power of identity, social acceptance, horror, and comedy. It’s 2004, and Iranian immigrant Yasamin, or Yasi, is the new girl. Her high school experience is daunting, as she tries to improve her English by watching her favorite sitcom and befriends a trio of pastel-clad girls who feed Yasi’s need to fit in. Desperate for acceptance, she dyes her hair blonde and, in doing so, also attracts a demonic force. With a fun retro setting, great performances by Rose Dehgan as Yasi, Chloë MacLeod as the creepy high school “Queen Bee” Rachel, and a blend of our favorite teen horrors, FOREIGNER takes up space as a new entry to “bubblegum horror,” bringing a fresh narrative to the Canadian immigrant experience. The film has been referred to by some as Mean Girls meets The Exorcist and Ava is definitely a young director to watch.
World Premiere at Fantasia, feature debut, July 21
Writer/director Ava Maria Safai is a Canadian-Iranian multidisciplinary artist from Vancouver, known for her work in acting, music, writing, and directing. She is a Dean’s List graduate from UBC’s BFA in Acting program and the artistic director of The Harlequin Theatre Society. She is also an accomplished musician and songwriter, with over 40 original songs and a Canada Council-funded musical. Her short film Zip won numerous awards on the festival circuit and her debut single “Finding Hope” was picked up on Lifetime’s Dance Moms. Ava Maria has released three albums and five singles and she co-wrote music for Unmasked (which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival). Ava Maria recently shadowed directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein on Final Destination Bloodlines.
Cast: Rose Dehgan (Musician & TikTok star), Chloë MacLeod, Ashkan Nejati (Director of Tonight’s Homework which premiered at IDFA)
HELLCAT Fantasia 2025
A woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer. A voice (Todd Terry) from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a mysterious doctor within the hour. Thus begins HELLCAT, the feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously cut the mind-bending ULTRASOUND (Fantasia 2021), among others. Bodell doesn’t take a wrong turn, delivering a twisty thrill ride of strong characters, shredding tension, and real surprises that takes viewers deep into unexpected places. Featuring SNL’s James Austin Johnson as the voice of a late-night DJ on a supernatural call-in show, and gripping performances from supporting cast Jordan Mullins and Liz Atwater.
World Premiere. Fantasia 2025
HOLD THE FORT Fantasia 2025
A HOA turns out to be more troublesome than usual in this wildly amusing, FX-heavy freak-out about newly minted suburbanites unexpectedly forced to take part in a struggle against monstrous forces. Narratives about motley groups of ill-equipped characters battling forces of evil are a staple of the modern horror/comedy world, but HOLD THE FORT, from writer/director William Bagley, is many yuks above the norm. With very funny dialogue, outrageous circumstances, and plenty of stylish splatstick as both the human and inhuman are dispatched in gruesome, sometimes giggle-worthy ways, with heaps of spurting, splashing gore and a nonstop parade of practically-created creatures and zombies. Starring Chris Mayers (OZARK), Haley Leary, sketch comic YouTube creator Julian Smith, and Tordy Clark (GLORIOUS), and featuring a charismatic turn from veteran stunt performer Hamid-Reza Benjamin Thompson (BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: ENDGAME).
World Premiere. Fantasia 2025
Fantasia 2025
DANIELA FOREVER
Following the death of his beloved, Nicolas enters a visionary drug trial that lets him explore his relationship with new eyes and the boundaries of physics. Nacho Vigalondo‘s DANIELA FOREVER is an emotionally complex, visually stunning deep dive into grief.
As Nicolas learns to navigate and control his time and environment with Daniela, real life pales in comparison. He selectively shares information with the scientists, and suddenly Daniela’s behavior evolves, allowing Nicolas to control her newly created memories. With each evolution of his dream states, Nicolas destroys the dimensions of reality, while also coming to terms with his selfish behavior.
The lighting is dazzling. The stark visual contrasts, including varying aspect ratios, between the memory and the present, are incredible. The grainy, Super 8 camera effect screams sadness, while the sharp, CGI-enhanced dream state envelops the audience from every angle and emotion.
Henry Golding easily carries the film. He is brave, funny, and authentic. His chemistry with Beatrice Grannò is tangible. Nicolas’ emotional arc is fascinating, and Golding lives every beat. He is effortlessly charming and vulnerable.
Fans of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will instantly vibe with DANIELA FOREVER. Vigalondo delves into selfishness, manipulation, and jealousy through his penchant for magical realism, sci-fi, and visual spectacle. If you are familiar with his resume, you understand how perfectly this film slots into his catalog. This exploration of anguish is undeniably extraordinary, but more importantly, DANIELA FOREVER is about rediscovering what makes life glorious, cherishing the details, honoring the mundane, and remembering how much joy still exists. It very much tackles the adage, “If you love something, set it free.”
Daniella Forever Trailer:
STAR PEOPLE
Adam Finberg‘s narrative feature debut, STAR PEOPLE, arrives to engross Dances With Films LA 2025 audiences. The film follows a photographer who receives a tip about the same strange lights she witnessed in childhood. But, a heatwave and tensions between unexpected guests threaten everything.
The archival news footage sets a brilliant tone for STAR PEOPLE. Combining alien hunting with an immigration story is incredibly clever and entirely seamless. Finberg brilliantly tackles racism and the sick practices of border coyotes and anti-immigration militants. Everything is high stakes as temperatures rise to deadly levels, and the chance to solve Claire and Taylor’s biggest childhood mystery seems less and less likely.
Connor Paolo plays influencer Justin with a precise amount of self-absorption. Similar to his performance in 13 Reasons Why, Paolo elevates his scene partners with his presence. You will love to hate him in this role. Eddie Martinez is the perfect foil for Paolo, playing the dedicated father, Ricardo. He is passionate and kind, leaving the audience in the shoes of a desperate parent.
McCabe Slye is Claire’s junkie brother Taylor. Slye is outstanding, tapping into Taylor’s manic PTSD like a pro. He steals every frame he’s in. Kat Cunning‘s Claire is desperately chasing answers from childhood. Her comfort in front of the camera is unmatched. She and Slye’s chemistry is movie magic.
Aiden Chapparone‘s cinematography is beautiful. Paired with a perfect synth-inspired score from Reza Safinia, each element complements the next. Claire’s visions are a mix of memories and nightmares. To piggyback on her condition, a theory 3/4 of the way through from the rather loathsome Justin is like a gut punch. You’re so emotionally invested in Claire’s arc that you hope he’s wrong.
STAR PEOPLE truly grabs you from the very first frame. It is a film for dreamers, cynics, and stargazers alike. Mulder was right. The truth is out there. STAR PEOPLE embraces humanity at its best and worst.
WORLD PREMIERE
Directed and written by: Adam Finberg
Producers: Adam Finberg and Josh Shader
Starring: Actor and recording artist Kat Cunning (The Deuce, On Swift Horses), McCabe Slye (Destroyer, Fear Street Trilogy), Connor Paolo (The Last Stop in Yuma County, Revenge, Gossip Girl), Eddie Martinez (The Sinner, Night Swim), Bradley Fisher (Westworld), and Adriana Aluna Martinez (Duster).
Inspired by The Phoenix Lights, the largest mass UFO sighting in U.S. history, STAR PEOPLE is a sci-fi thriller that tells the story of a photographer (Kat Cunning) who receives a tip that could finally shed light on her childhood UFO sighting, but a deadly heatwave and unexpected guests threaten to derail her obsessive search for answers.
Adam Finberg (Writer/Director/Producer)
Adam Finberg grew up in Phoenix, Arizona,, and moved to Southern California to attend the American Film Institute’s directing program. He’s worked the past 20 years as a writer, director, and editor. Star People is his first feature-length narrative film.
Adam began his career directing music videos (Armin van Buuren, Malbec, Otis) before moving on to commercial work (Napoleon Perdis, GoDaddy). His first documentary, After Katrina: Rebuilding St. Bernard Parish, shined a light on the perils and pains of post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
His first feature documentary, The Business of Recovery, dove into the secret lucrative world of the American addiction treatment industry. The film was featured on Last Week Tonight With John Oliver as it sparked conversations about the rehab industry and was even showcased at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Washington, DC to help guide policy decisions.
Through the years, Adam has been a lead editor on numerous unscripted television shows on a variety of networks, including Discovery, WETV, The History Channel, Lifetime, MSNBC, History, TruTV, Oxygen, ABC, CMT, Showtime, VH1, and MTV.
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Language: English
Feature Film (USA, 2025)
ABOUT DANCES WITH FILMS
Now in its 28th year, Dances With Films champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. With most film festivals relying heavily on celebrity, DWF have relied on innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct, and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies, and television series, produce multi-million-dollar film and create hot TV shows.
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PINS AND NEEDLES
Filmmaker James Villeneuve brings audiences a creative thriller ripped straight from global science and technology headlines. In PINS AND NEEDLES, a diabetic biology grad student’s ride back to campus turns deadly when a flat tire finds her trapped with two diabolical biohackers. With her insulin running dangerously low, Max must figure out a way to escape and take down a couple of psychopaths in the process.
Max’s diabetic hallucinations are an incredibly creative way to use Daniel Gravelle and work out potential escape routes. Short and sweet fantasy sequences also keep your heart racing. I would have loved more of both. I do have a gripe about there being no food in the house. Emily and Frank very clearly live in the house, and there is not a single snack lying around. 
While Kate Corbett and Ryan MacDonald are sufficiently eccentric and evil as our whackjob “scientists,” PINS AND NEEDLES is 100% the Chelsea Clark show. She easily carries every scene with grace and ferocity while never going overboard. She is one to watch.
I loved the use of car keys, and women will cheer that shit on. Did I yell at the screen during the finale? Damn right. PINS AND NEEDLES makes direct fun of billionaire Bryan Johnson. You know, the guy injecting himself with his son’s blood to stay young forever. And, just for your information, he’s moved on from that practice and opted for a “total plasma exchange” instead. Biohackers love to claim science when we all know damn well any fountain of youth is only for sale to the highest bidders. PINS AND NEEDLES leans into real-life monsters in a wildly clever way.
Pins and Needles Trailer:
David Verbeek takes Tribeca 2025 audiences on a journey of connectivity, science, and identity in THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE LEOPARD.
Beautiful close-ups combined with Jay Cheng‘s haunting score, a Hitchcockian narrative bait-and-switch draw you in. A yet unknown narrator guides us through chapters. The film opens with a young man struggling to find his way in life. Then, we meet her, a young girl raised by wolves in the middle of the forest. Our mystery narrator turns out to be a scientist she has a brief connection with during her initial captivation, Tanaka.
Jumping two years, we discover One under the care of two progressive scientists, Wynona and Ellias, AKA – Mother and Father, AKA – The Fox and The Leopard. Their teachings are heavily philosophical, climate-focused, and predominantly behavioral reprogramming. They live on what appears to be an old oil rig they call The Sea Palace, entirely isolated from the outside world. They tell One a tale of societal downfall and the poisoning of the Earth, giving her a darkly skewed version of herself and the world.
One discovers an imprisoned Indian sailor below and begins to learn more about what her “parents” describe as the Old World. One slowly begins to realize that she has been taken from everything she’s known to a place far more dangerous.
THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE LEOPARD shifts one final time in Chapter 3. Renamed Alice, One navigates the real world. It is evident that her faux parents have lied to her. Her interpersonal skills are what most would consider lacking, but that could not be further from the truth. In a final twist, Tanaka reappears in Alice’s life, much to her chagrin.
Naomi Kawase serves predominantly as the narrator, playing Tanaka. What little screentime she has is dazzling. Her gentle storytelling guides the viewer along this strange journey. Marie Jung and Nicholas Pinnock play our Fox and Leopard, respectively. Both are fierce, toxic, and incredible.
Jessica Reynolds is extraordinary. Wolf Girl endures unimaginable change from a wild being to humanity and back again. Her feral instincts are utterly mesmerizing. As she accompanies Elias and Wynona, she moves into toddler-like behavior, wide-eyed wonder, inquisitive exploration, and unbridled rage. Renamed One, she still craves affection like a canine, ultimately leading to the collapse of her Sea Palace existence. Alice’s final act is a masterclass in acting.
Structurally, the film is part fairytale and part science fiction. The story thrives in the morally grey. As a parent of neurodivergent children, THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE LEOPARD felt like watching an ABA therapist work with my son at two years old. Tanaka’s narration further explores this parallel notion. Verbeek delves into exploitation and then delivers a conclusion that is nothing short of perfect. Tribeca 2025 audiences will never stop talking about this film.
Director: David Verbeek THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE LEOPARD
Producer: Erik Glijnis, Leontine Petit, Judy Tossell
Screenwriter: David Verbeek
Cinematographer: Frank van der Eeden
Composer: Jay Cheng
Editor: Matthieu Laclau
Production Designer: Elsje de Bruijn
Executive Producer: Remy Mulder, Niki Leskinen, Roosa Toivonen, Ari Tolppanen, Greg Martin
Co-Producer: Alexandra Hoesdorff, Desirée Nosbusch, Jessie Fisk, Patrick Mao Huang, Siniša Juričić, Dries Phlypo
Sound Editor: Greg Vittore
Cast: Jessica Reynolds, Nicholas Pinnock, Marie Jung, Naomi Kawase, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE LEOPARD
DADDY
In Neal Kelley and Jono Sherman‘s sci-fi comedy DADDY, four men navigate an intense government-controlled assessment retreat to determine whether they are eligible to father children. When they arrive at a remote cabin in the California hills without phones or the appearance of an assigned monitor, paranoia sets in.
The dialogue feels like a stage play. The men share anxieties, theories, dreams, trauma, and awkward existential moments. Their social hardwiring takes center stage with subtle (and not so subtle) toxicity and competitive natures rearing their ugly heads. The audience lives in their discomfort. 
The men are colored-coded with various shades of sweatsuits and matching household items. Each one has a unique personality, problem-solving strategies, and emotional intelligence. Kelley and Sherman escalate mundane scenarios mirroring the unpredictability of parenting. I would love to see the women’s retreat as a sequel.
These men are complicated, and the arrival of a mystery guest heightens everything. Yuriy Sardarov, Jacqueline Toboni, Neal Kelley, Jono Sherman, and Pomme Koch deliver exceptionally nuanced performances. 
Empathy, competition, and fear create a powder keg. DADDY is a superb companion watch for The Assessment. Both occur in a dystopian near-future that looks more plausible with each passing day. DADDY is a complex character study with an ending that may shatter your moral compass. Do not miss it.
DADDY Trailer:
Anchor Bay Entertainment’s sci-fi comedy DADDY, directed and written by Neal Kelly and Jono Sherman and starring Yuriy Sardarov (“Chicago Fire,” Argo), Jacqueline Toboni (“Grimm,” “The L Word: Generation Q”), Neal Kelley, Jono Sherman, and Pomme Koch (“Law & Order,” “WeCrashed”).
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Three young women live a seemingly carefree life within the walls of a stunning estate. Their daily routine has regimen and free time, and the women submit to language tests by the unknown robotic voice guiding their waking hours. Are these women muses, are they assassins, are they replicas, or are they prisoners? We’re not quite sure.
Filmmakers Helena Ganjalyan and Bartosz Szpak bring their striking feature debut, GLORIOUS SUMMER, to SXSW 2025 audiences. The film is as unsettling as it is intriguing. There is an overarching feeling of inevitable doom. Questions whirl in your brain as small clues drop into their enigmatic conversations. The mystery immediately grabs hold.
The film could have been filmed in the 60s with 16mm cinematography by Tomasz Woźniczka. The costumes scream quiet luxury in their airy, simplistic cuts, sun-soaked pastels, and flowy fabrics. The setting is a beautifully crumbling chateau estate with fresco-painted walls and lush blooming meadows.
Each character is firmly delineated. There is a clear hierarchy. The tawny-skinned woman (Helena Ganjalyan) appears quietly cunning. The tallest, pale-skinned woman (Magdalena Fejdasz-Hanczewska) is the most openly rebellious, while the youngest, the redhead (Daniela Komędera), has a childlike need to please.
They plan to rebel. They rehearse a faux demise and all it entails, trying their hardest to keep their plans from whoever or whatever keeps them docile. Fifty minutes in, a crack in the system delivers insight to the women and the audience with just enough to keep us baited.
The cast is spectacular. Magdalena Fejdasz-Hanczewska, Helena Ganjalyan, and Daniela Komędera knock it out of the park with carefully curated specificities and physical work. Their chemistry makes your heart race. Bravo. The audience is rooting for these women. It slowly reveals the narrative revolves around free thinking and choice. GLORIOUS SUMMER is the sleeper sci-fi feminist film you never knew you needed. It lives up to its name.
GLORIOUS SUMMER Credits:
Directors: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak
Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska
Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak
Cinematographer: Tomasz Woźniczka
Editor: Alan Zejer
Production Designer: Katarzyna Tomczyk
Sound Designer: Marcin Jachyra, Maciej Amilkiewicz
Music: Bartosz Szpak
Principal Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz-Hanczewska, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj
Co-financed by: Polish Film Institute
SXSW Screening Schedule GLORIOUS SUMMER:
Violet Crown Cinema 2 – Saturday, March 8 at 3:00 pm w/ Filmmaker Q&A
Violet Crown Cinema 2 – Monday, March 10 at 11:30 am w/ Filmmaker Q&A
Alamo Lamar 7 – Thursday, March 13 at 6:45 pm
SXSW 2025SXSW 2025 is back with a vengeance. Brimming with talent new and old, the festival grows each year, giving audiences what they love. This year is no exception with Film and TV’s coolest, latest, and greatest. On the docket are hotly anticipated titles like DEATH OF A UNICORN with its insane ensemble cast, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively return in ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR, and Peter Cilella‘s Midnighter DESCENDENT. Take a peek at some of the films we’re watching this year…
For more info on SXSW 2025 click here!
Director: Gerard Johnson, Producers: John Jencks, Isabel Freer, Matthew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan, Screenwriters: Gerard Johnson, Austin Collings
Natasha Flynn is an estate agent on a mission—and she’s going to make a killing. Cast: Polly Maberly, Mikael Persbrandt, Jasmine Blackborow, Guy Burnet, Ryan Hayes, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Kellie Shirley (World Premiere)
ARREST THE MIDWIFE
Director: Elaine Epstein, Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman
The arrest of midwives in a rural healthcare desert ignites an unexpected rebellion: Amish and Mennonite women who break from tradition, and emerge as fierce political activists fighting for reproductive justice and birthing rights. (World Premiere)
Directors/Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak, Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska
A sun-drenched renaissance palace. Three women remain in a carefree state of limbo, tended to by an unseen, all-providing system. But as cracks in the paradise begin to appear, they are faced with a choice: escape or remain in the perfect illusion? Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page
A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes (World Premiere)
Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner
After a life altering accident, Ryan struggles to fit in with old friends and family at a birthday luau but the celebration boils over when he uncovers the missing memory of when his life took a tragic turn. Cast: Ryan Wuestewald, Hans Christopher, Nikki DeParis, Fabrizio Alliata, Makena Miller, Nyah Juliano, Michael Carter (World Premiere)
Director: Jessica Earnshaw, Producers: Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw
At 22, Gail gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Decades later, she’s arrested for murder, even though she says the baby was stillborn. Baby Doe explores the fallout when young women cannot accept the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. (World Premiere)
Director: Eli Craig, Producers: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Wyck Godfrey, Screenwriters: Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare, Eli Craig
A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. Cast: Katie Douglas, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Verity Marks, Dylan McEwan, Daina Leitold, Vincent Muller, Kaitlyn Bacon (World Premiere)
TEASER TRAILER LINK:
DEAR TOMORROW (Denmark, Japan, Sweden)
Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm
In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)
FOR WORSE
Director/Screenwriter: Amy Landecker, Producers: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Valerie Stadler, Jenica Bergere, James Portolese
Fresh off a messy divorce, a 50-year-old sober mom tries to rebuild her life and stumbles into a new beginning after finding herself at a Gen Z wedding behaving like a 25-year-old drunk bridesmaid. Cast: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Gaby Hoffmann, Ken Marino, Missi Pyle, Kiersey Clemons, Claudia Sulewski, Simon Helberg, Liv Hewson (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is a rock opera about a farm girl on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a dangerous city, where she must use the power of destiny and song to save her true love’s soul. Cast: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, Pokey LaFarge (World Premiere)
Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman
Welcome to Creede – a remote mining town with no stop light, a theater company and 300+ folks at 9,000 feet. This unlikely setting – with its miners, ranchers and theater people – offers an unexpected lens on divisions felt by Americans everywhere. (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Julia Max, Producers: Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich
When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual that will bring him back from the dead. Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly (World Premiere)
UVALDE MOM
Director: Anayansi Prado, Producers: Ina Fichman, David Goldblum, Screenwriters: Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza
When a school mass shooting rocks a small town in Texas, a mom desperate to save her kids is launched into the public eye. She speaks out against a system that never protected her. The community challenges these powers and exposes those who failed to protect its most vulnerable – children. (World Premiere)
IDIOTIKA
Director/Screenwriter: Nastasya Popov, Producers: Tess Cohen, Camila Mendes, Rachel Matthews, Saba Zerehi, Nastasya Popov
In this sharp, irreverent comedy, a disgraced fashion designer with a dangerously low credit score, Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) enters a reality show with a six-figure cash prize to save her babushka’s West Hollywood apartment. But as the competition intensifies, slick producer Nicol (Camila Mendes) pushes her to spin her family’s struggle into spectacle, forcing Margarita to decide whether to play along or take control of her own narrative, one unhinged look at a time.Cast: Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, Saweetie, Owen Thiele, Galina Jovovich, Mark Ivanir, Nerses Stamos, Ilia Volok (World Premiere)
NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (Canada)
Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol
When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah blah blah blah blah. Cast: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson (World Premiere)
Director: Ari Gold, Producers: Michelle Stratton, Starr Sutherland, Screenwriters: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan
Synopsis: Inspired by Francis Coppola’s concept of Live Cinema, Brother Verses Brother is a radically personal musical odyssey. Combative twin musicians hunt for their dying poet father, in an improvisation performed by the director’s own family, and presented as an unbroken real-time shot through the streets of San Francisco.
One brother seeks love, while the other seeks an audience. But as night falls and their father remains missing, their increasingly frantic safari leads them from the secret haunts of the Beat poets into the heart of their family. Their tale becomes a testament to the power of music, the bonds of brotherhood, and the lifeblood of a city – experienced by the viewer in real-time.
Cast: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan (World Premiere)
OUT FOR DELIVERY
Director/Screenwriter: Chelsea Christer, Producers: Clinton Trucks, Alexa Rocero, David B. Lyons
When terminally ill Joanna makes the difficult decision to pursue end of life options through the Death With Dignity law, the systems set up to make her death peaceful and dignified become the opposite. (Texas Premiere)
BAGGAGE (Australia, United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Lucy Davidson, Producers: Vanessa Batten, Amy Upchurch
Anthropomorphic suitcase best friends bring their emotional baggage on holidays. (International Premiere)
For SXSW 2025’s entire lineup, click here!
IN THE MOUTH
Filmmaker Cory Santilli brings a film like no other to Slamdance 2025 with IN THE MOUTH. The script follows Merl, a housebound man down on his luck financially and mentally. When his landlady arrives to collect three months’ back rent, Merl decides to take on a roommate. Larry happens to be an escaped murderer, but that is not what scares Merl. It is the giant version of himself protruding from his front lawn. 
IN THE MOUTH is an absurdist comedy. Shot in stark black and white by Mike Magilnick, the cinematography boasts great closeups and one particularly memorable off-kilter angle that made me sit up straighter. Merl’s creative outside retrieval methods remind me of individual components of Pee Wee Herman‘s Rube Goldberg machine in his Big Adventure film.
Doug Moss‘ augmented sound editing highlights the isolation of Merl’s environment while simultaneously ticking the boxes of sensory issues he may also be affected by. I recognize the triggered body language as someone with misophonia, specifically with metal on metal. 
Colin Burgess, who also stars in another Slamdance 2025 film, LOCKJAW, and designed the titles, delivers a fascinating performance as Merl. Burgess’ commitment to the genre and the world Santilli has created is applause-worthy. You would never know Burgess was the same actor, which is the ultimate compliment. I would happily watch him create more Merl shenanigans. *Cory, I’m talking to you here.*
Understanding that Merl is Cory in real life is key to the film’s profundity. The metaphor of turning fear into power is so intriguing. IN THE MOUTH‘s finale lands, quite literally, like a breath of fresh air. Slamdance is the key demographic for a story with this breadth of style and bravery.
In The Mouth Teaser Trailer:
THE BUILDOUT
Filmmaker Zeshaan Younus has been the talk of the town on the festival circuit with THE BUILDOUT. The film follows two close friends scouting the Southern California desert, searching for a new site for their religious group. That is only the beginning.
Cameron and Dylan are not the first to set foot on the land. Timelines cross. The two friends document what they find on a camcorder. In the isolation, they discover more questions than answers, and the viewer travels down a rabbit hole of unnerving chaos.
Jenna Kanell gives Cameron a feisty edge that reminds me of Robin Tunney in Empire Records, appearance and all. There is a visible aversion to the hyper-religious nature that Dylan openly expresses. Hannah Alline (Adult Swim Yule Log) is Dylan. Alline brings an almost unwavering, psychopathic faith as a recovering addict. Kanell and Alline share a beautifully organic chemistry. They are perfect foils for one another. They share an unresolved trauma bond within a larger mystery.
The audience holds its collective breath with only drips of information at any given time. The eclectic camera work by Justin Moore is jarring in the best way possible, delivering a continuously menacing vibe. (Don’t think I missed your EP credit, Emily Bennett!) Matt Latham‘s editing is emotionally dizzying and brilliant. This entire team knew precisely what they were doing. Younus creates characters that captivate, backed by a story that digs its talons into your brain. THE BUILDOUT will have you begging for more.
The Buildout Trailer:
Something is happening in the desert. The epicenter is a strange tent, humming with an imbued esoteric energy. What is found within its walls is incomprehensible.
We first meet Dylan and Cameron as they barrel deeper into the desert. One knows exactly where they’re going, the other one is doing their best to be a good friend.
On a road trip fueled by junk food and documented by a handheld camera, the women traverse a landscape that feels more like Mars than Earth – the California Desert. This is their last chance to get back – back to what they used to be. Today, they are but mere fragments of their former selves; weighed down by the looming presence of a shared tragedy.
A story of rebirth, recovery, closure, and accountability propelled forward by an esoteric conduit. This women-led narrative follows the tectonic shift of a friendship over one fateful day. In the face of the unexplained, they lean into their truest selves and come face-to-face with an unnerving discovery.
THE BUILDOUT is a meditation taken from behind the handlebars of a speeding motorcycle. It aims to bridge the gap between found footage and traditional cinematic storytelling while leaning into strong, capable, and unapologetic characters.
The debut feature from distributor Ethos Releasing, THE BUILDOUT is written and directed by Zeshaan Younus and stars Jenna Kanell, Hannah Alline, Natasha Halevi, Michael Sung Ho, and Danielle Evon Ploeger.
Written and directed by Addison Heimann (Hypochondriac), the TOUCH ME stars Olivia Taylor Dudley (Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension), Lou Taylor Pucci (A-X-L), Jordan Gavaris (“Hacks”), Marlene Forte (Knive’s Out) and Paget Brewster (“Criminal Minds”).
In TOUCH ME, after a series of unfortunate events leaves their house uninhabitable and reeking of poo, two co-dependent friends, Joey and Craig, find themselves homeless and out of options. That’s when Joey’s mysterious ex resurfaces. He wants her back. Along with being hot, Brian also happens to be an alien whose touch makes anxiety and depression disappear. The two venture to his compound for the weekend with the hope of being healed from past traumas, but underneath Brian’s veneer of healing is a sinister plot filled with murder, mayhem, and blood. TOUCH ME is an psychosexual horror-comedy about the nature of co-dependent friendships and how far we are willing to go for a slice of happiness.
Director: Addison Heimann
Screenwriter: Addison Heimann
Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr., Addison Heimann
Principal Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster
Addison Heimann is a queer genre filmmaker currently residing in Los Angeles. His first feature, Hypochondriac, premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and was distributed by XYZ Films. His goal is to tell queer stories that explore mental health in the genre space.
https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675333aa68b8b73e67fe584a
Andre, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor.
Produced by A24 Films
Director: Tony Benna
Production Companies: A24 Films, Sandbox Films, Safehouse Pictures
Producers: André Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner
Tony Benna has developed and directed within a variety of platforms, creating award-winning work with multiple mediums, including film, advertising, post-production, and broadcast. With strong roots in stop-motion animation techniques, he is focused on pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling.
https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675332e268b8b704ebfe55ad
In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport narrates this investigation of what happened to Bouvia.
Co-funded through ITVS Open Call and will premiere on Independent Lens
https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675315ab68b8b7b799fe264a
Directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by Pasha Talankin, this uniquely collaborative film is as captivating and joyful as it is eye-opening and sobering. Mr. Nobody Against Putin showcases rare footage that reveals the profound impact of Putin’s regime on the lives of everyday Russians, particularly its children.
Director: David Borenstein
Co-Director: Pavel Talankin
Screenwriter: David Borenstein
Producer: Helle Faber
David Borenstein has worked in the documentary industry on three different continents. He has produced and directed TV for BBC, PBS, ARTE, Al Jazeera, DR, Vice, and many more international broadcasters. Borenstein directed Can’t Feel Nothing (2024), Love Factory (2021), and Dream Empire (2016).
https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67531ef268b8b7d56dfe338e
Lives intertwine around Green Lake. A girl learns to sail, a boy fights for first chair, two sisters operate a bed-and-breakfast, and a fisherman is after the catch of his life. An anthology following the residents of a small town and the lake that binds them together.
Director: Sierra Falconer
Screenwriter: Sierra Falconer
Producers: Grant Ellison, Sierra Falconer
Sierra Falconer is a Michigan-raised, Los Angeles–based screenwriter and film director. She holds a BFA in film theory from Wesleyan University and an MFA in film directing from UCLA. Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) is Falconer’s feature directorial debut.
When an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.
Hailey Gates is a filmmaker and journalist based in New York. She received her BFA from NYU in experimental theater. Her award-winning short film Shako Mako premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. As an actress, Gates has appeared in Twin Peaks: The Return, Uncut Gems, and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers.
In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.
Director: Laura Casabé
Screenwriter: Benjamin Naishtat
Principal Cast: Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Agustín Sosa
Laura Casabé is a genre director. Her 2016 debut, La Valija de Benavidez, received seven international awards. Los que vuelven premiered at the 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam, won multiple awards at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, and won Best Director at the 2020 Sitges Film Festival.
Accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where cabbages are banned, Declan and Delores must confront the fragility of their new marriage while on the run for their lives.Super clone watches are the perfect blend of style, affordability, and precision, offering everyone a chance to enjoy luxury without the cost.
Director(s): Evan Twohy
Screenwriter: Evan Twohy
Producers: Christina Oh, Steven Yeun
Principal Cast: Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, Steven Yeun, Dave Franco, Matt Berry
Evan Twohy was raised on Hitchcock and opera on the edge of a forest outside Berkeley, California. From an early age, he found himself drawn to absurdist theater and began writing plays in New York City prior to making his first feature, Bubble & Squeak.
Evan Oppenheimer‘s hilarious DWF NY premiere PEAS AND CARROTS centers on 16-year-old Joey, the daughter of two one-hit wonder band members from the 90s. A glitch with the kids’ star projector opens a portal to an alternate universe where everybody only says three words: “Peas and Carrots.”
The Wethersbys, your typical New York family of quirky creatives, navigate their musical relevance and the children’s eclectic personalities. Joey longs to take the lead on a newly formed family band, but underlying feelings and said alternate universe has other plans.
The deliberate lens change between worlds is genius. There is a Nickelodeon quality about the entire production, and I do mean that in the highest regard. The score is authentically fun.
Playing the youngest Wethersby, Callum Vinson is adorable as Topper. Talia Oppenheimer has superb comic timing as middle child Mickey. Andrew Polk delivers acerbic wit as producer Woody. 
Amy Carlson and Jordan Bridges are a joy to watch as Laurie and Gordan. Their chemistry is spot on. Kirrilee Berger is a pure delight as Joey. She has a natural star quality akin to Jane Levy or Rachel Sennott. She brings an effervescent energy to the screen.
A clever device comes in the form of a bedtime routine. The dialogue is genuinely hilarious. When Joey enters her dream state, the cast’s commitment to the Peas and Carrots gag is laugh-out-loud funny. Each new scene provides more insight into this mysterious alternative universe. PEAS AND CARROTS manages to weave existentialism into a family film about confidence and identity. It’s a delicious treat, peas, carrots, rhubarb and all. Stick around for the musical credits and a sweet surprise. You’ll be begging for seconds.
Directed by: Evan Oppenheimer (Alchemy)
Produced by: Edward Schmidt, Jay Zellman
Starring: Kirrilee Berger (Unsung Hero), Amy Carlson (“Blue Bloods”), Jordan Bridges (“Rizzoli & Isles”), Andrew Polk (Armageddon Time), Kelly McAndrew (In the Family), Talia Oppenheimer (The Magnificent Meyerons), Callum Vinson (“Chucky”), Laurissa Romain (Top Five), Dan Thompson (A New York Story), Faith Gitchell, Krishna Doodnauth, Angel Desai (“NCIS: New Orleans”), Gabriel Rush (Moonrise Kingdom), Ajay Naidu (Office Space)
Joey Wethersby is a typical 16-year-old New York girl — if your typical New Yorker had parents who were in a one-hit wonder band in the 90’s. And if your typical New Yorker found themselves traveling every night to a bizarre alternate reality, where everybody only says three words: “Peas and Carrots”. Joey finds herself navigating this weird new world, while also dealing with her changing family dynamic, after she suggests that she and her parents (and, to her chagrin, her siblings) form a new band and start rocking out together.
About Evan Oppenheimer
Peas and Carrots is the eighth film written and directed by Evan Oppenheimer. His other films are The Magnificent Meyersons, Lost in Florence, A Little Game, The Speed of Thought, Alchemy, Justice, and The Auteur Theory.
The Magnificent Meyersons is currently on the Starz network, after being theatrically released twice, in 2020 and 2021. Lost in Florence, shot entirely in Italy, was released around the world in 2017 by MGM and Orion Pictures. A Little Game, Evan’s first family film, was called “a classic in its own right” upon its release in 2014, and won Best Feature and Best Actor at the International Family Film Festival. The Speed of Thought, a science fiction thriller, was released nationwide on-demand, as well as in numerous countries around the world, and is currently being adapted for a television series.
Alchemy, a romantic comedy, was subsequently a New York Times Highlight, the TV Guide Movie Pick of the Week, a Washington Post Best Bet, and an Us Weekly Pick. Justice was recognized as the first narrative film to deal with the after-effects of 9/11. It premiered at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival, and was lauded in The New York Times (“A genuine surprise”), TV Guide (“Admirably subtle”), and The New York Daily News (“There’s no denying the film’s emotional core”).
Evan’s first film, The Auteur Theory, made on a shoestring budget of $70,000, screened in festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards. Reviewers have called it “ingenious”, “among the best first features I have ever seen”, “one of the best independent films of the year”, and “easily the funniest indie film since Clerks”.
After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in English, Evan was an editor for three years at Atheneum Publishers. He then moved on to NYU Film School, where his student film Cross Road Blues won first prize at the University Film & Video Association Student Film Festival.
For more DWF coverage, click here!
THE FIX
Filmmaker Kelsey Egan brings audiences THE FIX. The near future film occurs where toxic air is slowly poisoning the population, and only the wealthy have access to treatment. Ella exists in the shadow of her recently deceased supermodel mother. Thinking she’s taking a party drug, Ella accidentally ingests an experimental synthetic, causing accelerated and unpredictable mutations inside and out. Ella becomes the target of both the drug dealers and global big pharma Aethera. THE FIX is much more nuanced and endlessly intriguing. It is sci-fi, action, thriller, and everything in between.
Icon Clancy Brown plays Aethera patriarch. Anytime he appears in a film, it elevates the entire production. Robyn Rossouw delivers a fear-soaked performance as Ella’s best friend, Gina. Huge accolades for Keenan Harrison and Tina Redman as they prove their acting chops, but I’ll let you discover their vital roles on your own. It is truly A+ work from both.
Daniel Sharman gives Eric zen confidence before revealing a sinister motive. The arrogance pours off of him. He is perfectly punchable in his underlying deep-seated daddy issues and self-loathing. Grace Van Dien (Stranger Things) owns this film. She gives Ella similar energy to Mila Jovovich in the Resident Evil franchise. Van Dien is an effortless badass. With each new role, she proves her talent. I hope she’s getting the dollar amount she deserves.
Production is spectacular. Props are sleek, costumes are clean but unique, and the sets are just as applause-worthy in their minimalist glory. The special FX makeup team gives us top-notch originality. Read More – Bizzbuzz.news is one of the top sites that gives you latest on super clone watches.
The script mimics global politics with a razor-sharp edge. COVID is undoubtedly an inspiration, and the similarities to something like Spiderman are undeniable, but THE FIX offers a unique version of the origin story trope. Beautifully woven into Egan’s work, you cannot miss the magical creature allegory.
THE FIX could seamlessly expand into a multiple-season series. There is so much well-developed canon that audiences would tune in without hesitation. Tackling ethics, capitalism, and the fragility of humanity, THE FIX has arrived to entertain and challenge.
The Fix Trailer:
Synopsis
A toxic compound infects Earth’s atmosphere. Pharmaceutical giant, Aethera, sells immunity… but most can’t afford the daily dose. When a troubled model takes a new drug at a party, she suffers a shocking transformation. Pursued by a dangerous gang and authorities in cahoots with Aethera, she hunts for a “fix” to reverse the drug’s effects, only to discover her mutations may be the key to saving the human race.
Director: Kelsey Egan
Producers: Greig Buckle, Allison Friedman, Jeremy Walton, David Lyons and Egan
Executive Producers: Showmax, Moo Studios and Van Dien.
Cast: Grace Van Dien, Daniel Sharman, Keenan Arrison, Tina Redman, Robyn Rossouw, Tafara Nyatsanza, Nicole Fortuin and Clancy Brown
Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller
Language: English
Runtime: 98 minutes
DREAM TEAM
Filmmakers Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn bring us an absurdist homage to 90s basic cable TV thrillers. DREAM TEAM follows the episodic escapades of two hot West Coast INTERPOL agents who uncover an international, interspecies mystery involving psychic coral, a sexually suggestive scientist, and an invisible coworker with a very vindictive streak. Do you remember when you used to fall asleep in front of the television in middle school and wake up at 2 am only to find some weird low-budget movie playing? DREAM TEAM takes you back in a time machine of half-awake ideas and visual nostalgia.
Agents No and Chase (Esther Garrel and Alex Zhang Hungtai) leisurely follow the trail of deaths but mostly sport tight clothes and make innuendos. The script occurs in episodes featuring a repeated title sequence and undeniably clever cheeky titles.
The 16mm cinematography is Chef’s Kiss, from the extreme handheld close-ups to the shaky handheld everything else. The editing by Whitney is a masterful fever dream of overlapping superimposed fades and soft-core imagery (many aquarium shots. A lot.) The amount of B-roll outnumbers the actual plot. Each element nails the 90s aesthetic, with appropriately absurd costumes and a wealth of black light.
The script is intentionally utter nonsense. If you want to learn about coral, DREAM TEAM is your jam. Performances across the board are spot-on for mediocre porn overdramatics. I feel like watching on mushrooms would be an experience. There are so many moments of WTF I lost count 30 minutes in. At that point, it is best to throw your hands up and tell yourself, “Sure, why not?” My favorite scene involves an invisible coworker. I was also thankful for the break in what I assume are meant to be channel surfing breaks in the narrative pattern.
It is easy to see why Jane Schoenbrun acts as executive producer. The neon color pops are right up her alley. Listen, coming from someone who starred in two of these things many years ago – do not even try to look that shit up on the internet, I will hunt you down- DREAM TEAM owns the bit. The question remains whether audiences will tolerate it for 90-plus minutes.
The third audacious feature from Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn (L FOR LEISURE, TWO PLAINS & A FANCY), DREAM TEAM once again blends the filmmakers’ wild genre pastiches into sociopolitical parables, creating a truly unforgettable – and beautifully weird – cinema experience. The critically-acclaimed sci-fi/comedy debuted at 2024’s International Film Festival Rotterdam and stars Esther Garrel and Alex Zhang Hungtai.
An absurdist homage to ’90s basic cable TV thrillers, DREAM TEAM follows the episodic escapades of two hot West Coast INTERPOL agents who uncover an international, interspecies mystery involving psychic coral, a sexually suggestive scientist, and an invisible coworker with a very vindictive streak.
DREAM TEAM kicks off a retrospective of Kalman and Horn’s filmography at the Metrograph in New York City. Their previous two features will play In Theater as part of the “Retro-Futurism: The Films of Lev Kalman & Whitney Horn” series, and screen via Metrograph At Home.
Distributed by Yellow Veil Pictures, the satirical sci-fi/comedy is produced by Lev Kalman, Whitney Horn, Sarah Winshall, Pierce Varous, and I SAW THE TV GLOW director Jane Schoenbrun.
ELSE
A mysterious disease that merges living beings with their physical surroundings leads to a lockdown. After a one-night stand, uptight and brilliant hypochondriac Anx and free-spirited, flighty Cassandre find themselves in forced cohabitation. This odd couple fills the hours dancing, having sex, walking down memory lane, and chatting with neighbors through the vents. When suddenly confronted by an attack inside the apartment, Anx and Cassandre’s survival mode turns into something entirely different. ELSE supplies the shivers to Screamfest 2024 audiences. Get ready for some serious weirdness.
Beautiful camera work has an immersive feel. Eccentric production design initially mirrors Anx’s graphic artist occupation, eventually morphing to match the ever-evolving circumstances of the disease. There is a Tim Burton/JimHenson-esque quality to the creature fx. A grotesque whimsy that makes it difficult to look away.
Matthieu Sampeur and Edith Proust give us magnificent performances. The script possesses a dark inevitably the longer they are together. Director Thibault Emin, alongside co-writers Alice Butaud and Emma Sandona, delivers a surprising link to childhood trauma in Anx. The existential aspect creeps up on you and burrows under your skin. The psychosexual element is bonkers. ELSE is a genre-obliterating love story.
THE COMPLEX FORMS
Filmmaker Fabio D’Orta‘s THE COMPLEX FORMS plays Screamfest 2024. The film follows a group of men who sell their bodies for temporary possession by an unknown entity that emerges from the woods. In an ancient Italian villa, our characters work until chosen. Upon seeing the horrors that await them, the roommates decide to run.
A sweeping opening shot accompanied by Riccardo Amorese‘s booming cinematic score immediately grabs your attention. The location is exquisite, with sprawling grounds and old-world villa architecture. THE COMPLEX FORMS is visually spectacular at every turn. Our mysterious entities remind me of the darkest Jim Henson creatures and Moana’s villainous crab, Tamatoa.
David Richard White gives leading man Christian an intriguing mix of fear and determination. Aided by D’Orta’s sharp cinematography, White compels you to root for him.
THE COMPLEX FORMS gives audiences much to chew on in 74 minutes. The double-entendre title is particularly clever. The film boasts a finale you will never see coming. Fabio D’Orta is an undeniable visionary.
The Complex Forms Trailer:
SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL – Wins BEST DIRECTOR NOT FILM FEST – SPECIAL MENTION KANAZAWA FILM FEST – Wins BEST VFX FILM AWARD XXIII MACABRO FILM FESTIVAL – Wins BEST DIRECTOR PORTLAND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL – Wins FOR BEST CREATURE FEATURE AWARD MAMMOTH LAKES FILM FESTIVAL – Wins JURY AWARD BEST INT’L NARRATIVE FEATURE MAMMOTH LAKES FILM FESTIVAL – Wins AUDIENCE AWARD BEST INT’L NARRATIVE FEATURE 44th FANTASPORTO FILM FESTIVAL 2024 – SPECIAL JURY AWARD SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2024 – HONORABLE MENTION 41TORINO FILM FESTIVAL – SPECIAL MENTION
PÁRVULOS US Premiere
Filmmaker Isaac Ezban brings Fantastic Fest 2024 PÁRVULOS, the story of three siblings surviving in the woods by scavenging in a virus-ravaged world. The dangerous secret they harbor in the basement may be their undoing.
The cinematography is something to behold. The sepia-toned lens locks you into a compelling plot. It creates this magical, borderline eerie feeling. The production design team is aces with children’s drawings and makeshift inventions. The post-apocalyptic aspects are relatively subtle but incredibly effective. The end credits are outstanding. The original song “Our People Need Our Help” is a certified banger.
Two surprising performances will blow you away, but I won’t spoil that with specifics. I will only say that Norma Flores and Horacio Lazo give us everything they’ve got. Our three young brothers are magnificent. Mateo Ortega Casillas gives Benny the right amount of innocence and rebellion. Leonardo Cervantes delivers vulnerability and compassion as Oliver. Farid Escalante Correa gives Salvador a perfect mix of resentment and raging hormones. Together, they warm and break your heart.
The film’s tone takes an unexpectedly amusing twist once Benny learns the secret that Oliver and Salvador keep in the basement. Benny convinces his brothers that normalcy can return if they try hard enough. Their unrelenting determination hits a snag when a young woman crashes their holiday plans. The film takes another turn during its nearly two-hour run. A wildly dark finale holds you captive.
PÁRVULOS has enough meat on the bone for a series. Visually striking, beautifully acted, and ceaselessly compelling. Is it not only a highlight of Fantastic Fest, but one of the year’s best films, period.
Fantastic Fest Website:
https://fantasticfest24.
Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Omega Pandemic, a devastating global catastrophe, teenage Salvador has assumed the role of caretaker for his younger siblings, Oliver and Benjamin. Equipped with a host of survivalist skills, Salvador harvests resources from the forest nearby and hunts small game for their table while trying to instill a sense of normalcy through routine, games, storytelling, and holiday celebrations.
Director: Isaac Ezban
Cast: Carla Adell, Leonardo Cervantes, Felix Farid Escalante, Norma Flores, Noe Hernandez, Horacio Lazo, Mateo Ortega
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