HEKLA
Filmmaker Michael Glover Smith co-writes the DWF LA 2026 feature HEKLA with star Elizabeth Stam. It follows a day in the life (and the mind) of a Chicago actress.
Wendy Robie‘s narration elevates the already mesmerizing structure. The black-and-white cinematography creates a stark visual juxtaposition against the color of Hekla’s theatrical storytelling moments. The costumes and direct eye contact with the camera create a stunning snapshot into Hekla’s talent and confident psyche.
Stam’s physical chaos, like carrying an open ceramic mug on the L, matches perfectly with a life in the arts. The parallels between the meta script and the screenplay are fantastic. The audience gets a peek into Hekla’s freshly broken-off relationship as she delivers monologues and songs during her various auditions. It speaks directly to the creative process and motivation during a performance. Stam and Smith delve into the irony of desiring a career as a successful actor. Once anonymity fades, everything changes.
Elizabeth is fantastic. In whatever character she is playing, you cannot take your eyes off her. She is a true chameleon. HEKLA is undeniably compelling in both visual style and storytelling. Anyone who has dipped their toe in the industry will connect with the film instantly. Smith and Stam deliver all the anxiety, whimsy, and reality of living your dreams.
WRITERS: Michael Glover Smith & Elizabeth Stam
DIR: Michael Glover Smith
PRODS: Aaron Wertheimer, Michael Glover Smith, Elizabeth Stam
CAST: Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie, Mary Tilden, Brookelyn Hebert
HEKLA is a comedy-drama about the emotional cost of pursuing a creative life. Hekla, a determined Chicago actress, races through auditions, breakups, and self-doubt, risking her heart and career to claim her voice and step fully into the artist and woman she’s meant to be. Set over one day in Chicago, the film explores how ambition, identity, and vulnerability collide when you’re chasing something as personal, and uncertain, as an acting career. Beneath the humor and dramatic momentum lies a story about the importance of showing up for yourself, even if the world isn’t clapping for you yet.
Rob Burnett brings a wicked take on mortality and legacy in Tribeca 2026’s dark comedy In Memoriam. When a known TV actor, Langston Stanfield, gets a terminal cancer diagnosis out of the blue, his entire goal for his remaining six months to live is to make it into the Oscars Death Montage.
Daniel Blake Schwartz‘s very personal Tribeca 2026 drama Cotton Fever explores the trappings of addiction. The film follows the lives of interconnected drug users in Massachusetts. 
Director Andrew Neel uses Witold Szablowski‘s book as the basis of his Tribeca 2026 doc How To Feed A Dictator. Call it food porn meets a global authoritarian playbook. This is a brilliant film, if you can stomach it.
Director Allison Sloan Berg‘s Tribeca 2026 doc Time Warp, and I see you shiver with Antici… pation. September 2022 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, a small theatre dares to put on a Shadow Cast production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Theatre director, producer, choreographer, house manager, and star of the show, Kenny Starling, brings us into the industrious, loving, and hardworking theatre company that delivers excitement and love to an otherwise quiet, conservative, and seemingly forgotten town. 
Theatre has always been a safe space, long before that became a political buzzword. Time Warp appears relatively straightforward in its initial presentation. Berg features cast members’ backgrounds, rehearsals, and most surprisingly, a city council meeting that does not go the way we think it will. 
Huge ups to music supervisor Doug Bernheim for the soundtrack, which features the OG Frank-N-Furter, Tim Curry, Siouxsie, Betty Davis, and Jobriath. Frank Keraudren’s editing, particularly the five-day-out rehearsal montage, opening night, and the credits, is delicious. Loved seeing huge Broadway stars line up as Executive Producers! Berg boasts Josh Gad, Billy Porter, and John Cameron Mitchell.
Remaining Tribeca screenings of General Admissions:
Filmmaker Rob Rice‘s incredibly uncomfortable Tribeca 2026 film Ponderosa follows Zeke, a young man targeted by a wealthy patron as his mother’s restaurant chain falters. George thinks he’s mentoring Zeke, but the reality is a collection of bizarre, forced encounters.
![Holo - 2026 Tribeca Festival - Tribeca - [tribecafilm.com]](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Holo-2026-Tribeca-Festival-Tribeca-tribecafilm.com_.png?resize=678%2C383&ssl=1)
![Zelda Williams in HOLO_[JULIAN LOMAGA]_20](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Zelda-Williams-in-HOLO_JULIAN-LOMAGA_20-scaled.jpg?resize=678%2C367&ssl=1)
Shane West, heartthrob to a generation of women like me thanks to A Walk To Remember, still exudes an effortless charm that leaps off the screen. As Jared, he taps into a terrifying rage. Morgan Kohan gives Claire every bit of herself. It’s the arc we die for. Bravo to Zelda Williams for playing Jared’s human counterpart (more of her, please), and to director Alexander DeSouza and Ashley Brandon for the seamless editing. Magali Lafeur nails the production design.![Morgan Kohan in HOLO_[JULIAN LOMAGA]_5](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Morgan-Kohan-in-HOLO_JULIAN-LOMAGA_5-scaled.jpg?resize=678%2C367&ssl=1)
DeSouza creates an ominous atmosphere. Screenwriter Alexander Hernandez-Maxwell pulls on our darkest desires and intrusive thoughts. Fans of Severence, Westworld, and the 2024 doc, ![Shane West In HOLO_[JULIAN LOMAGA]_32](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Shane-West-In-HOLO_JULIAN-LOMAGA_32-scaled.jpg?resize=678%2C367&ssl=1)
![Carolina Caroline (2025) - [www.imdb.com]](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Carolina-Caroline-2025-www.imdb_.com_.png?resize=602%2C886&ssl=1)
Samara Weaving plays Caroline with both a curious innocence and a ferocious need. A woman with deep-seated mommy issues and supposed free will looking to feel seen. Kyle Gallner, AKA My Music Boyfriend (IYKYK), AKA Scream King, is our charming bad influence, Oliver. A whip-smart, observant, effortless hustler, his journey is just as complex as Weaving’s. Gallner always makes it look easy. The two share a goo-goo-eyed chemistry that makes the knees weak. You are buying every dangerous and sensual beat.
As their crimes progress from petty to armed, Caroline’s conscience creeps in, and a close call digs a deeper hole for her and Oliver. Rehmeier keeps the audience on their toes from the get-go, using Oliver’s teaching techniques to lure you into his game, but suspect a potential long con. But Rehmeier and writer Tom Dean are smarter than that with a script that knocks it out of the park. 
Of course, the score god Chris Bear did the music. Bear, Rehmeier, and editor Justin Krohn understand the emotional impact of a strategically placed song. The red, white, and blue costumes (which match the opening credits) are iconic. Rehmeier’s ability to create a visual identity in his films is truly chef’s kiss. 
The film sucks you in by introducing the horrid history, but then allows the present attraction to act as a reclamation of power for the atrocities once committed there. Archival newspaper clips, alongside a perfectly ominous score, highlight the sickening language and mindset of Pennhurst’s 1907 origin. The film begins with a warning. Fifteen minutes in, the viewer will recognize its necessity. 
Confessional lyrics that make you cry (that’s a warning for around the 20-minute mark, but not the last), paired with gorgeously cut close-ups in the church studio, sweep you away. It feels like a live concert just for you. Alexandra delivers the organic revelations of creation. 
You must be logged in to post a comment.