Omaha
Cole Webley‘s Omaha finds a grieving husband and father of two young children at the end of his rope during the 2008 financial crisis. To avoid the shame of the family’s eviction, Martin sweeps his kids and their golden retriever Rex into the car during the early morning hours, convincing them they are embarking on a cross-country road trip.
9-year-old Ella quickly pieces things together, keeping her anxiety to herself. As the money runs out and Ella witnesses her father spiral day by day, she cannot fathom how this story will end.
Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis play Ella and Charlie. These two young actors will blow you away. Their chemistry with John Magaro is something from the movie gods. Wright bears the weight of being the eldest daughter, exquisitely. A performance immediately clocked by those who have lived it.
Magaro slowly sinks into a state of desperation as each hour ticks by, knowing he has almost zero options to keep up the ruse. It is a deeply affecting turn. 
Christopher Bear‘s music is akin to an American folktale, almost echoing Taylor Swift. Paul Meyers‘ camerawork and Jai Shukla’s editing create a tangibility that touches your soul. The film’s deliberate pacing and lingering shots allow the audience to be in the moments of realization, joy, and grief of this little family.
Writer Robert Machoian taps into a specific, heart-rending phenomenon explained in the film’s final moment, yet, as unnecessary wars rage on and prices rise, Omaha‘s impact does not simply exist in the realm of 2008. It is any day now for so many families. As a parent, it is a visceral watch. If you don’t find yourself in the deepest hurt while watching this film, count your blessings.
Watch the trailer here:
OMAHA, the debut feature from Cole Webley, opens in New York on April 24 via Greenwich Entertainment
The film stars John Magaro in his first leading role and premiered to strong reviews in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Shot on location across Utah, Nebraska, and Wyoming, OMAHA lends an authentic, sweeping backdrop to its journey through the American West.
Set against the 2008 financial crisis, OMAHA follows a struggling father (Magaro) on a road trip across the American West with his two children, Ella and Charlie. What begins as a seemingly spontaneous journey gradually reveals deeper emotional stakes, exploring parenthood, love, and the quiet desperation of protecting your children when you’re unsure you can.
In his feature directorial debut, Webley favors emotional authenticity over sentimentality, matched by a remarkable breakout performance from 11-year-old Molly Belle Wright. Written by Robert Machoian (The Killing of Two Lovers) and shot by Paul Meyers, ASC, the intimate screenplay and striking visuals mirror the characters’ inner lives with subtlety and grace.
Following Sundance, OMAHA has continued to resonate, earning honors at Jakarta World Cinema (Best Film, First Features), Deauville (Jury Prize), Richmond (Grand Jury Award, Best Feature), Nashville (Audience Award), Munich (CineKindl Award), Dallas (Grand Jury Award), and Miami (Jordan Ressler First Feature Award).
Living in New York has its ups and downs. No matter how expensive your apartments are, the walls are always paper thin. You come to know your neighbors for better or for worse. Director Mike Donahue and writer Jen Silverman give Sundance 2023 audiences so much in their 15-minute short film TROY.
After losing her mother, Sammy lashes out physically and emotionally. When her dad forces her to take a business class in summer school, she encounters a magician by happenstance. Under the guise of a final project, Sammy trades anger for magic. 
Rhea Perlman
I’ve never trusted wolves. You could argue this is because I’ve always been raised around ultra-docile dogs, but I think my 20+ years of watching movies are really to blame. The ratio just doesn’t hold water. For every domesticated wolf acting as Kevin Costner’s sidekick, there are countless more stalking our hero through a snowy tundra, howls echoing through the night.
Sam Hobkinson’s smooth direction compels the audience forward. There’s a charming and particularly modern manner to the way that Hobkinson features key figures in Misha’s journey to stardom – their whole essence summarized into a single characteristic (“The Publisher”, “The Journalist”) We are not really meant to get to know these people (although “The Survivor” radiates winking humor with deep emotion in her few minutes of screen-time) – they are here to feed us the facts we need to drive the narrative forward, to build momentum towards the film’s core question. Which is, of course, can we believe Misha?
I have actually spent a few days on the island of Malta. When I met my husband he told me that his heritage was Scottish, Irish, and Maltese. I honestly had no idea what he was talking about. I’m half Italian and was completely unaware of the small, bustling island off the coast of Italy. Even with my little experience in the area, I can attest to the authenticity you get in LUZZU. Pre-pandemic, it was filled with tourists taking ferry boats from Sicily or to the smaller island of Gozo, where they actually filmed some of Game Of Thrones. It boasts crystal blue waters and ancient architecture. It also contains kind, hardworking locals that have been thriving in the fishing industry for a long, long, time. Now, things are changing and everyone is being forced to adapt. LUZZU takes all that local beauty and then gives us a weighty story we can sink our teeth into.
Jes is down on his luck in every way possible. He’s not catching anything that he can sell. His new son is not growing as he should. His mother-in-law doesn’t respect him. Jes dives headfirst into the black market fishing industry. While he fixes his luzzu (which is his wooden fishing boat) by hand, he snatches up any side hustle that comes his way. It’s heartwrenching to watch him struggle. You just want him to make it. As the danger grows, so do the emotional consequences.
Based on the book of the same name by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an emotional rollercoaster. I was already welling up listening to the opening monologue. The echolalia, the sensory overstimulation, the hand flapping, and ear covering all punched me in the gut when presented on screen. I’m a lucky Mom. At 5 years old, my child is now very verbal, he’s hyperlexic which means he’s been reading since he was two. He loves hugs, sleep, and eats well. On the autism spectrum, he would be closer to Asperger’s, if that were a diagnosis recognized nowadays. None of these facts lessen the fear, frustration, exhaustion, and pure elation in raising an exceptional human being. The Reason I Jump is tailor-made from the words of a nonverbal 13-year-old boy’s experiences from the inside out. In film form, it’s simply triumphant.
In the doc, we are introduced to 5 unique young people with autism.
Joss -(UK)
Jestina – Sierra Leone
The narrated excerpts from the book directly correlate with whichever child is being highlighted at that time. Voiced by Jordan O’Donegan, they have a poetic feel to their profundity. Naoki writes, “Making sounds with your mouth isn’t the same as communication.” That quote did me in. When you hear that, truly hear it, you will be taken aback. Jestina, Ben, Emma, Joss, and Amrit all communicate in a different way, we just had to learn how to listen. The heightened sound design immerses you into the world of an autistic person. We do not understand what it is like to be utterly overwhelmed not being able to be fully understood. The cinematography is breathtaking. Quick cuts, predominantly in close-up form combined with a gorgeous soundtrack put you in an alternate headspace. The editing takes all these elements and blends them into a viscerally stunning documentary.
As a mother of a child on the autism spectrum, I feel like I can see I want to broadcast this film to the world so that neurotypical individuals can understand my son and every other person on the spectrum. The label of autism, whether people realize it or not, creates implicit bias. We are missing out on the potential and impact of an entire faction of our society. It is our duty to meet each other in the middle. The Reason I Jump is a captivating peek behind the autism curtain. Don’t look away now. Thank you Naoki Higashida for writing this book. Thank you David Mitchell for translating it for your son. Thank you Jerry Rothwell for directing such an important film. Thank you to the families that shared their lives. Watch this film, then choose to listen and learn in a new way.
PRESENTS
Debuts on HBO March 3rd and 4th
I’ve started this review many times in the past seven days. It’s been difficult to put into words how Leaving Neverland has made me feel. For my sixth birthday, I can only recall receiving one particular gift. It was Micheal Jackson’s Thriller on cassette. This was my very first album that was all mine, outside of Sesame Street or Disney songs. I had already been dancing for three years and MJ would influence my musical and performance taste going forward. In 2009, my husband and I were in the car and the radio came on with the breaking news on Michael’s death. We were stunned, devastated, conflicted. We’d lived through the accusations at the same time his accusers and fellow defenders had. Macaulay Culkin was my childhood crush and one of Jackson’s close friends. Culkin has categorically denied anything inappropriate ever happened. He and Wade Robson‘s testimony had a huge effect when Jackson went to trial. I was relieved when Michael was acquitted of all charges in the early 2000s. I wanted to believe that his hands were clean. Now, I think my idolization of this once in a lifetime artist is destroyed.
The personal risks for Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck coming forward now are immense. Hardcore fans are up in arms. Threatening to protest in droves at the film’s premiere at Sundance. But in the doc, we see and hear more evidence than ever before. Family photos, home video, faxes, and to top it off, voicemails, all from Michael. There is new video from inside Neverland. The sheer number of bedrooms hidden onsight should have been alarm enough. The pattern is laid out for us to see. The grooming is there. The gifts, the promises, and all the personal attention. But obviously most upsetting is the sexual abuse itself. Each act described in illicit detail. I want so badly for these stories to be lies. I do not think they are. In a time when victims’ voices are more important than ever, we have to respect Robson and Safechuck for finally feeling healthy enough, physically and emotionally, to share their stories. They are not being paid for the film. They have confronted the abuse that they were groomed to believe was love. Now, as father’s of little boys themselves, they have to come to terms with not only their hurt but the onus of their mothers who failed to protect them. There are no winners here. No amount of money can bring back the childhoods that were stolen. What emotion comes after denial? I think it’s anger. Now, after Leaving Neverland, I’m just really angry.
From the opening shot of 
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