“I don’t know what normal is,” Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) confesses towards the end of Ghostlight. His family may be dramatic, but to him, they don’t get it from me. Dan is a Chicagoland construction worker whose marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) isn’t particularly stable. When they receive a call from their daughter Daisy’s (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) school about her expulsion for shoving a teacher, what seems like another teenage phase soon reveals deeper wounds the trio grapple with. An Hour of Subtle Revelations The film carefully unveils the reasons behind their emotional strain, with euphemistic ambiguity throughout its first...
- 6/14/2024
- by Steve Delickson
- TVovermind.com
GhostlightImage: IFC Films
Hollywood studios have, over the last quarter-century, uncannily missed no opportunity to undercut the value proposition of their product. But under-discussed among the myriad reasons for cinema’s increasingly slack grasp on our collective culture is a very simple and straightforward one: Much of the most popular...
Hollywood studios have, over the last quarter-century, uncannily missed no opportunity to undercut the value proposition of their product. But under-discussed among the myriad reasons for cinema’s increasingly slack grasp on our collective culture is a very simple and straightforward one: Much of the most popular...
- 6/13/2024
- by Brent Simon
- avclub.com
It’s not always easy to find out which movies hit theaters each week, especially after the Hollywood strikes led to so many release date changes. With the WGA and actors strikes resolved and summer blockbusters starting to roll in, June is filled with both big budget flicks and new indie releases.
Premiering June 14 is Disney’s “Inside Out 2,” which follows a now 13-year-old Riley as she goes away to hockey camp and grapples with a new set of complicated emotions starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, and Paul Walter Hauser. Also hitting theaters is “Ultraman: Rising,” an animated action-adventure about superstar baseball player Ken Sato who must return to Japan to fulfill his legacy of becoming Ultraman starring Christopher Sean, Rob Fukuzaki, Hiro Nakamura and Gedde Watanabe. Two films getting limited releases this week are “Firebrand,” a historical drama about Katherine Parr, the sixth wife...
Premiering June 14 is Disney’s “Inside Out 2,” which follows a now 13-year-old Riley as she goes away to hockey camp and grapples with a new set of complicated emotions starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, and Paul Walter Hauser. Also hitting theaters is “Ultraman: Rising,” an animated action-adventure about superstar baseball player Ken Sato who must return to Japan to fulfill his legacy of becoming Ultraman starring Christopher Sean, Rob Fukuzaki, Hiro Nakamura and Gedde Watanabe. Two films getting limited releases this week are “Firebrand,” a historical drama about Katherine Parr, the sixth wife...
- 6/12/2024
- by Pat Saperstein and Jack Dunn
- Variety Film + TV
Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson imbue the paradoxes of performing arts so deeply into their film Ghostlight that it even extends to the title. In a poetic sense, the light stand that illuminates an unpopulated theater isn’t for human eyes. It’s to appease or rebuff spirits, depending on who’s asked. But in a practical sense, the ghost light exists to help the living—mostly to avoid a fate like falling into the orchestra pit and joining the dead.
Life subsumes legend for O’Sullivan and Thompson in a worthy follow-up to their previous collaboration on the small-scale humanist triumph, 2020’s Saint Frances. Their ambition broadens significantly in Ghostlight, though their firm footing in sincerity and simplicity isn’t diminished in the slightest. The creative and life partners deliver a moving apologia for the value of theater by exploring its central contradiction: a performance is an act of honesty,...
Life subsumes legend for O’Sullivan and Thompson in a worthy follow-up to their previous collaboration on the small-scale humanist triumph, 2020’s Saint Frances. Their ambition broadens significantly in Ghostlight, though their firm footing in sincerity and simplicity isn’t diminished in the slightest. The creative and life partners deliver a moving apologia for the value of theater by exploring its central contradiction: a performance is an act of honesty,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slant Magazine
Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer and “Ghostlight” director Alex Thompson will reunite for a body swap comedy. Think “Freaky Friday” with an indie sensibility.
From “Heaven Can Wait” to “Big” and “The Hot Chick,” it’s a familiar genre. However, what makes this film unique is that it’s believed to be the first family body swap movie to star an actual parent and their child.
Keith and Katherine starred in Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan’s acclaimed Sundance movie “Ghostlight,” which opens this Friday in limited release by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. It continues its theatrical rollout throughout the summer. Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan will co-write the untitled film, with Thompson set to direct. Full plot details are being kept under wraps. However, the film is being likened to “Columbo” with a twist (we may have missed the episode where Peter Falk and a younger version of himself swap raincoats).
Park Pictures,...
From “Heaven Can Wait” to “Big” and “The Hot Chick,” it’s a familiar genre. However, what makes this film unique is that it’s believed to be the first family body swap movie to star an actual parent and their child.
Keith and Katherine starred in Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan’s acclaimed Sundance movie “Ghostlight,” which opens this Friday in limited release by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. It continues its theatrical rollout throughout the summer. Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan will co-write the untitled film, with Thompson set to direct. Full plot details are being kept under wraps. However, the film is being likened to “Columbo” with a twist (we may have missed the episode where Peter Falk and a younger version of himself swap raincoats).
Park Pictures,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
When filmmakers and partners Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson premiered their “Ghostlight” on the first day of Sundance this January, it wasn’t the only new addition to their growing family they had to share. One month before the duo showed their “Saint Frances” follow-up to an eager Utah audience, they’d welcomed their first child.
For a filmmaking pair already carving out a niche for hard-won, heart-warming indie features (like Indie Spirit and Gotham nominee “Saint Frances”), making it a family affair is just part of the deal. After all, who else is better equipped to release a film while also suffering from massive sleep deprivation than a pair of can-do filmmakers?
As O’Sullivan and Thompson prepare to bring “Ghostlight” to theatrical audiences this week, that attitude and that family bond go a long way, even if the concerns are a little different this time around. Like, sleeping?...
For a filmmaking pair already carving out a niche for hard-won, heart-warming indie features (like Indie Spirit and Gotham nominee “Saint Frances”), making it a family affair is just part of the deal. After all, who else is better equipped to release a film while also suffering from massive sleep deprivation than a pair of can-do filmmakers?
As O’Sullivan and Thompson prepare to bring “Ghostlight” to theatrical audiences this week, that attitude and that family bond go a long way, even if the concerns are a little different this time around. Like, sleeping?...
- 6/12/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
We’ve been waiting for a weekend like this one since last July, as for the first time in almost a year, we finally get a movie that has the potential to open with over $100 million. Fingers crossed! Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
Although Disney and Pixar Animation have had a tough time in recent years due to a combination of the Covid pandemic and the advent of the Disney+ streamer, on Friday it will release “Inside Out 2,” the first theatrically released sequels to one of Pixar’s massive critical and commercial hits in five years.
The original “Inside Out,” directed by three-time Oscar winner and current Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter, opened with $90.4 million nine years ago. At the time, it was Pixar’s second-best opening, and it’s still the animation house’s best debut for a non-sequel. This sequel, directed by Kelsey Mann,...
Although Disney and Pixar Animation have had a tough time in recent years due to a combination of the Covid pandemic and the advent of the Disney+ streamer, on Friday it will release “Inside Out 2,” the first theatrically released sequels to one of Pixar’s massive critical and commercial hits in five years.
The original “Inside Out,” directed by three-time Oscar winner and current Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter, opened with $90.4 million nine years ago. At the time, it was Pixar’s second-best opening, and it’s still the animation house’s best debut for a non-sequel. This sequel, directed by Kelsey Mann,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
When you see a film that bills itself as a family drama, you always have to make sure the members of the family are convincing enough. Well, that’s not a concern for the new film, “Ghostlight.” The family at the center of the film are an actual family offscreen, as well.
Read More: ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance]
With “Ghostlight” arriving in select theaters this week, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a scene from the film.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Exclusive Clip: A Man’s Life Changes When He Discovers A Local Theater Troupe at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance]
With “Ghostlight” arriving in select theaters this week, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a scene from the film.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Exclusive Clip: A Man’s Life Changes When He Discovers A Local Theater Troupe at The Playlist.
- 6/11/2024
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Chicago – Two of the finest filmmakers who have roots in Chicago (college) are Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan. After Kelly wrote the acclaimed “Saint Frances” with Alex directing, their second film is a co-directing effort that is a brilliant meditation on finding one’s self after loss, and doing it through … acting.
Dan (Keith Kupferer) is a middle-aged construction worker grieving a family tragedy, and has cut himself off from his devoted wife Sharon (Tara Mallen) and talented but troubled daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), Through an accidental circumstance, Dan finds comfort and community in a misfit company of amateur actors. While performing for the first time in a low-rent production of a Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, Dan is forced to confront his buried emotions.
Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, Music Box Theatre, Chicago
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are up-and-upward cinema creators,...
Dan (Keith Kupferer) is a middle-aged construction worker grieving a family tragedy, and has cut himself off from his devoted wife Sharon (Tara Mallen) and talented but troubled daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), Through an accidental circumstance, Dan finds comfort and community in a misfit company of amateur actors. While performing for the first time in a low-rent production of a Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, Dan is forced to confront his buried emotions.
Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, Music Box Theatre, Chicago
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are up-and-upward cinema creators,...
- 6/11/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Previous | Image 1 of 11 | NextJohn C. Reilly, Career Achievement Award honoree.
Chicago – The Red Carpet was for rock … er, cinema … stars at the the 60th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) Summer Gala, and the directors, actors and film VIPs were present and feted. Patrick McDonald and Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com were also there, and got the stars to pose and talk.
Hosted with raucous glee by “Today Show” personality Al Roker, the night was a luminous event with brilliant speeches, highlighted by Career Achievement Awardee John C. Reilly, who thanked his born-and-bred Chicago upbringing for his movie star career. Also honored was filmmaker Jennifer Reeder (“Knives and Skin”) who received the Tour De Force Award for her progressive feminist filmography, and took us through her journey in a screenplay speech format. Ciff Founder Michael Kutza was also honored, and received a standing ovation.
Also among the Red Carpet attendees...
Chicago – The Red Carpet was for rock … er, cinema … stars at the the 60th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) Summer Gala, and the directors, actors and film VIPs were present and feted. Patrick McDonald and Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com were also there, and got the stars to pose and talk.
Hosted with raucous glee by “Today Show” personality Al Roker, the night was a luminous event with brilliant speeches, highlighted by Career Achievement Awardee John C. Reilly, who thanked his born-and-bred Chicago upbringing for his movie star career. Also honored was filmmaker Jennifer Reeder (“Knives and Skin”) who received the Tour De Force Award for her progressive feminist filmography, and took us through her journey in a screenplay speech format. Ciff Founder Michael Kutza was also honored, and received a standing ovation.
Also among the Red Carpet attendees...
- 6/10/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Visit Films has announced a torrent of recent deals on its slate led by a further key territory sale on Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry Good One.
India Donaldson’s feature debut starring newcomer Lily Collias as a 17-year-old who goes on an awkward backpacking trip with her father and his best friend has gone to Cherry Pickers for Benelux after a previously reported deal with New Story for France.
Multiple territories remain in active negotiation after Cannes, and Metrograph Pictures holds North American rights.
SXSW documentary Mogwai: If The Stars Had A Sound about the cult post-rock band has been...
India Donaldson’s feature debut starring newcomer Lily Collias as a 17-year-old who goes on an awkward backpacking trip with her father and his best friend has gone to Cherry Pickers for Benelux after a previously reported deal with New Story for France.
Multiple territories remain in active negotiation after Cannes, and Metrograph Pictures holds North American rights.
SXSW documentary Mogwai: If The Stars Had A Sound about the cult post-rock band has been...
- 5/30/2024
- ScreenDaily
Katherine Mallen Kupferer, one of the breakout stars of “Ghostlight,” has signed with Fusion Entertainment for management.
“Ghostlight” premiered at Sundance and will be released across the country this summer by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. A Chicago-based stage and screen actor, Kupferer last year had a supporting role as Gretchen in the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret,” which was directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and executive produced by James L. Brooks.
“Katherine leaps off the screen in both ‘Ghostlight’ and ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margeret,” said Fusion Entertainment partners Chris Evans and Adam Kersh. “Even at a young age, she is an impressively versatile comedic and dramatic actor. We look forward to working with Katherine and helping guide her already promising career to new heights.”
Born to theatrical parents Keith Kupferer and Tara Mallen Kupferer, Katherine made her...
“Ghostlight” premiered at Sundance and will be released across the country this summer by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. A Chicago-based stage and screen actor, Kupferer last year had a supporting role as Gretchen in the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret,” which was directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and executive produced by James L. Brooks.
“Katherine leaps off the screen in both ‘Ghostlight’ and ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margeret,” said Fusion Entertainment partners Chris Evans and Adam Kersh. “Even at a young age, she is an impressively versatile comedic and dramatic actor. We look forward to working with Katherine and helping guide her already promising career to new heights.”
Born to theatrical parents Keith Kupferer and Tara Mallen Kupferer, Katherine made her...
- 5/24/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
One of the most anticipated releases of 2024, Ghostlight, from directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, has taken the festival circuit by storm. Premiering at Sundance and making a notable stop at SXSW, this drama is set to hit theaters next month, distributed by IFC Films. Ahead of its June 14 launch, the first trailer has made its debut. The Premise Unfolds When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he
The post Ghostlight Trailer A Construction Worker Reconnects With His Daughter in Acclaimed Sundance Drama first appeared on TVovermind.
The post Ghostlight Trailer A Construction Worker Reconnects With His Daughter in Acclaimed Sundance Drama first appeared on TVovermind.
- 5/24/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
Mubi has unveiled next month’s streaming lineup, featuring recent releases such as Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster, Tynan DeLong’s Dad & Step-Dad, and Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think About Dying. Additional highlights include Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Passion, Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy, Alex Thompson’s Saint Frances (ahead of the release of Ghostlight), as well as a spotlight on the Ross Brothers following Mubi’s streaming release of Gasoline Rainbow at the end of this month.
“Everybody’s raising this Rashomon thing, but I feel that it’s fundamentally different from Rashomon, because in Rashomon, each character, when they go back through the story again, they actually end up being a different character within the film, within the story, whatever specific story it is,” Hirokazu Kore-eda told us last fall regarding Monster. “Whereas with this, the people don’t change, but the monster who appears, appears in different places.
“Everybody’s raising this Rashomon thing, but I feel that it’s fundamentally different from Rashomon, because in Rashomon, each character, when they go back through the story again, they actually end up being a different character within the film, within the story, whatever specific story it is,” Hirokazu Kore-eda told us last fall regarding Monster. “Whereas with this, the people don’t change, but the monster who appears, appears in different places.
- 5/21/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards.
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Lexi Carson
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – The Audience is the determiner for the Award Winners of the 11th Chicago Film Critics Film Festival, which took play from May 3rd-9th, 2024. The recipients for the 2024 Rotten Tomatoes Audience Award Winners are for Narrative Feature “Ghostlight,’ directed by Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, Documentary Feature “Flipside” by Christopher Wilcha and the Short Films “Bob’s Funeral” by Jack Dunphy and “Welcome to the Enclave” by Sarah Lasley.
The 11th Ccff
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com
The 11th Chicago Critics Film Festival is the the only such festival in the country curated by film critics, and highlights the 2024 films from the early year festivals like Sundance, SXSW and more. Below is the Five Best Films from HollywoodChicago.com Editor and Film Critic/Writer Patrick McDonald.
Five Best Films of 2024 Ccff, Audio Overview by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Audience Awards are sponsored by Rotten...
The 11th Ccff
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com
The 11th Chicago Critics Film Festival is the the only such festival in the country curated by film critics, and highlights the 2024 films from the early year festivals like Sundance, SXSW and more. Below is the Five Best Films from HollywoodChicago.com Editor and Film Critic/Writer Patrick McDonald.
Five Best Films of 2024 Ccff, Audio Overview by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Audience Awards are sponsored by Rotten...
- 5/12/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Closing Night for the 2024 Chicago Critics Film Festival (Ccff) is Thursday, May 9th, and the final film centerpiece is “Ghostlight,” directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. For the full schedule, info and tickets, click Ccff Closing Night. For individual films, click titles below.
Ghostlight
Writer/Co-Director Kelly O’Sullivan (inset) of ‘Ghostlight’
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com
Dan (Keith Kupferer) is a middle-aged construction worker grieving a family tragedy, and has cut himself off from his devoted wife Sharon (Tara Mallen) and talented but troubled daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer). Through an accidental circumstance, Dan finds comfort and community in a misfit company of amateur actors. While performing for the first in a low-rent production for one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Dan is forced to confront his buried emotions.
Capsule Review: The premise has sitcom-like plot drivers to get the reluctant Dan on stage, but the path...
Ghostlight
Writer/Co-Director Kelly O’Sullivan (inset) of ‘Ghostlight’
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com
Dan (Keith Kupferer) is a middle-aged construction worker grieving a family tragedy, and has cut himself off from his devoted wife Sharon (Tara Mallen) and talented but troubled daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer). Through an accidental circumstance, Dan finds comfort and community in a misfit company of amateur actors. While performing for the first in a low-rent production for one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Dan is forced to confront his buried emotions.
Capsule Review: The premise has sitcom-like plot drivers to get the reluctant Dan on stage, but the path...
- 5/9/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
"The lines are the easy part. The hard part is the emotional journey." IFC Films has revealed the trailer for Ghostlight, an acclaimed indie drama that first premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. I caught it there and I have to say - this really is a gem, it surprised & moved me in many unexpected ways. Co-directors Alex Thompson & Kelly O'Sullivan's previous film, Saint Frances, received widespread praise on the regional festival circuit & national stage, including noms from the Indie Spirit Awards and The Gotham Awards. This is their latest film creation. When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater's production of Romeo & Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss. Stars newcomer Keith Kupferer as Dan,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
‘Ghostlight’ Trailer: A Construction Worker Reconnects With His Daughter In Acclaimed Sundance Drama
There are plenty of films and TV shows telling stories about the power of art to save people’s lives. But you don’t often see one of these stories shine the light on a middle-aged construction worker. That’s exactly what happens in the new film, “Ghostlight.”
Read More: ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance]
In the trailer for “Ghostlight,” we get to see how the film focuses on Dan, a construction worker who is having issues with his teen daughter.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Trailer: A Construction Worker Reconnects With His Daughter In Acclaimed Sundance Drama at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance]
In the trailer for “Ghostlight,” we get to see how the film focuses on Dan, a construction worker who is having issues with his teen daughter.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Trailer: A Construction Worker Reconnects With His Daughter In Acclaimed Sundance Drama at The Playlist.
- 5/6/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
One of our early favorites of 2024, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Saint Frances follow-up Ghostlight premiered at Sundance and stopped by SXSW before coming to theaters next month from IFC Films. Ahead of the June 14 theatrical release, the first trailer has now arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.”
John Fink said in his review, “A masterfully crafted work with nearly no false notes, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Ghostlight is a tender drama bearing profound moments of humor and small triumphs. The smartly constructed script by O’Sullivan buries the lede, revealing new narrative information with each layer as...
Here’s the synopsis: “When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.”
John Fink said in his review, “A masterfully crafted work with nearly no false notes, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Ghostlight is a tender drama bearing profound moments of humor and small triumphs. The smartly constructed script by O’Sullivan buries the lede, revealing new narrative information with each layer as...
- 5/6/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
When Chicago-based filmmakers Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson first came across our radar with their charming “Saint Frances,” it was clear we were witnessing the birth of a powerhouse pair of indie filmmakers. Even in that first film, which marked Thompson’s feature directorial debut and that O’Sullivan both wrote and starred in, what would become their signature was obvious: a canny combination of heart and humor that go beyond basic loglines.
“Saint Frances” was eventually nominated for three Gotham Awards and the Indie Spirits’ vaunted John Cassavetes Award, and when chatting with IndieWire about their delightful gem, the pair even admitted that simple plotlines don’t quite do their works justice. “Saint Frances” comes with what seems like a downer of a description: “After an accidental pregnancy turned abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds an unlikely friendship with the 6-year-old she’s charged with protecting.” As the duo told...
“Saint Frances” was eventually nominated for three Gotham Awards and the Indie Spirits’ vaunted John Cassavetes Award, and when chatting with IndieWire about their delightful gem, the pair even admitted that simple plotlines don’t quite do their works justice. “Saint Frances” comes with what seems like a downer of a description: “After an accidental pregnancy turned abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds an unlikely friendship with the 6-year-old she’s charged with protecting.” As the duo told...
- 5/6/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Chicago – The 2024 Chicago Critics Film Festival (Ccff) kicks off on Friday, May 3rd, with “Sing Sing” and continues through May 9th with an amazing cinema week featuring the best of the winter/spring bold face film fests, special guests, revivals and surprises! Click on 2024 Ccff for tickets and schedule.
The 11th Ccff
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com
In “Sing Sing,” Divine G (Colman Domingo), who is imprisoned in New York State’s infamous Sing Sing prison, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other men who are incarcerated. The story uses actual incarceration actors alongside Domingo and the other professionals, and the guests for Opening Night includes director Greg Kwedar, and actors Clarence “Divine Eye’ Maclin, Paul Raci and Sean “Dino” Johnson.
Capsule Review: The redemptive power of pretending to be something else is on display in this remarkable tale, filtered through the intense experiences of both society’s...
The 11th Ccff
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com
In “Sing Sing,” Divine G (Colman Domingo), who is imprisoned in New York State’s infamous Sing Sing prison, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other men who are incarcerated. The story uses actual incarceration actors alongside Domingo and the other professionals, and the guests for Opening Night includes director Greg Kwedar, and actors Clarence “Divine Eye’ Maclin, Paul Raci and Sean “Dino” Johnson.
Capsule Review: The redemptive power of pretending to be something else is on display in this remarkable tale, filtered through the intense experiences of both society’s...
- 4/30/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Vashon Film Institute has set the date for the third annual Vashon Island Film Festival, which is slated to take place Aug. 8-11. The announcement comes with the launch of two new divisions of the Vashon Film Institute and a new donation arm, which accepts restricted funds to be used solely to fund improvements at the Vashon Theatre.
Vfi’s new divisions are the Quartermaster Lab, a collective of filmmaking programs, and VFIpresents, its sales, distribution and release division, which will also focus on organizing community events outside Viff.
“The quintessential goal in founding Vfi was to support independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mark Mathias Sayre, founder of Vashon Film Institute. “To that end, Viff has already brought compelling indie features and documentaries to local audiences and will continue to do so. But that’s only part of the game plan: We’re equally committed to engendering the...
Vfi’s new divisions are the Quartermaster Lab, a collective of filmmaking programs, and VFIpresents, its sales, distribution and release division, which will also focus on organizing community events outside Viff.
“The quintessential goal in founding Vfi was to support independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mark Mathias Sayre, founder of Vashon Film Institute. “To that end, Viff has already brought compelling indie features and documentaries to local audiences and will continue to do so. But that’s only part of the game plan: We’re equally committed to engendering the...
- 4/19/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov and Jack Dunn
- Variety Film + TV
IFC Films announced that Ghostlight, acquired by the studio out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it made its world premiere, will open in New York City and Chicago on Friday, June 14, 2024 before expanding nationwide the following week.
The film is co-directed by Chicagoans Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan and written by O’Sullivan, and stars real-life family Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen, and Katherine Mallen Kupferer, as well as Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness).
The film follows Dan, a melancholic construction worker who finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.
“We are beyond excited to be bringing this project that is so near and dear to our hearts to the big screen this summer,...
The film is co-directed by Chicagoans Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan and written by O’Sullivan, and stars real-life family Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen, and Katherine Mallen Kupferer, as well as Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness).
The film follows Dan, a melancholic construction worker who finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.
“We are beyond excited to be bringing this project that is so near and dear to our hearts to the big screen this summer,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The 27th Sonoma International Film Festival (March 20-24), as always, leaned into wine and food with the sold-out opening night U.S. premiere of Thomas Napper’s “Widow Clicquot” (Vertical Entertainment), starring Haley Bennett as the woman who saves the legendary winemaker’s legacy. The wine country film festival drew its highest audience attendance to date with a robust film slate programmed by artistic director Carl Spence (working with Executive Director Ginny Krieger), in his second year, including upcoming specialty fare like Luc Besson’s “DogMan” (Briarcliff Entertainment) starring Caleb Landry Jones in an incendiary performance, and Sony Pictures Classics’ raucous comedy “Wicked Little Letters,” starring Olivia Colman, along with a smattering of yummy wine and food events.
The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...
The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...
- 3/24/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
A masterfully crafted work with nearly no false notes, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Ghostlight is a tender drama bearing profound moments of humor and small triumphs. The smartly constructed script by O’Sullivan buries the lede, revealing new narrative information with each layer as we watch a nuclear family slowly come apart and, later, find solace in the wake of their son’s suicide. Anchored by a real-life family, the film feels as if it’s been meticulously workshopped with the same intimate collaboration that gave O’Sullivan and Thompson’s last feature, Saint Frances, its authentic nuances.
Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) is first presented to us as a small-town construction worker with a short temper and family drama. He has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and his marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) is on the rocks. Love holds the family together, and following an...
Dan Muller (Keith Kupferer) is first presented to us as a small-town construction worker with a short temper and family drama. He has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and his marriage to Sharon (Tara Mallen) is on the rocks. Love holds the family together, and following an...
- 3/13/2024
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
One month ago, heading into the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the most anticipated title for buyers was not necessarily the action-adventure anthology with Pedro Pascal (Freaky Tales) or the Kristen Stewart-fronted post-apocalyptic love story (Love Me). It was Dídi, a coming-of-age film about a 13-year-old in the Bay Area from a first-time feature director with no notable U.S. stars. It quickly landed a deal with Focus Features, while films with shinier stars and higher concepts are still in negotiations for deals.
The U.S. has long been known as the great arbiter of “bigger is better.” But being risk-averse, given current economic conditions and industry trends back home (Disney, Paramount Global, Amazon MGM, and others are currently undergoing layoffs), may, says one U.S. buyer, “no longer mean getting a massive star or big director — it means costing less.” Yet, internationally, the mandate seems to be business as usual,...
The U.S. has long been known as the great arbiter of “bigger is better.” But being risk-averse, given current economic conditions and industry trends back home (Disney, Paramount Global, Amazon MGM, and others are currently undergoing layoffs), may, says one U.S. buyer, “no longer mean getting a massive star or big director — it means costing less.” Yet, internationally, the mandate seems to be business as usual,...
- 2/18/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Visit Films has added Sundance premiere Ghostlight, Latin music biopic Jenni and New York-set comedy Late Bloomers to its slate for next week’s European Film Market.
Visit will represent international sales rights for Ghostlight, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. Keith Kupferer, Tara Mullen, Katherine Mallen Kupfererv and Dolly de Leon star in the story of a construction worker who joins a local theater production of Romeo and Juliet.
IFC Films and Sapan Studio recently acquired North American rights to the film, which is produced by Ian Keiser, Alex Wilson, Pierce Cravens, Eddie Linker, Chelsea Krant and Alex Thompson.
Visit will represent international sales rights for Ghostlight, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. Keith Kupferer, Tara Mullen, Katherine Mallen Kupfererv and Dolly de Leon star in the story of a construction worker who joins a local theater production of Romeo and Juliet.
IFC Films and Sapan Studio recently acquired North American rights to the film, which is produced by Ian Keiser, Alex Wilson, Pierce Cravens, Eddie Linker, Chelsea Krant and Alex Thompson.
- 2/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
The SXSW Film Festival announced today 50 new films, Xr projects and television programs that complete the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival lineup. Among the world premieres are the latest from The Voyeurs director Michael Mohan, who reunites with star Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate; Dev Patel’s action thriller Monkey Man; Alice Lowe’s followup to her Prevenge, Timestalker; and a new film from The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby director Ned Benson, The Greatest Hits. Festival favorites traveling from Park City to Austin include Didi, Black Box Diaries, Love Machina, Ghostlight and I Saw the TV Glow. Of particular interest to […]
The post SXSW Announces 50 New Projects for Its 2024 Program, Including Films from Michael Mohan, Nicole Riegel and Alice Lowe first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post SXSW Announces 50 New Projects for Its 2024 Program, Including Films from Michael Mohan, Nicole Riegel and Alice Lowe first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/7/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The SXSW Film Festival announced today 50 new films, Xr projects and television programs that complete the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival lineup. Among the world premieres are the latest from The Voyeurs director Michael Mohan, who reunites with star Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate; Dev Patel’s action thriller Monkey Man; Alice Lowe’s followup to her Prevenge, Timestalker; and a new film from The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby director Ned Benson, The Greatest Hits. Festival favorites traveling from Park City to Austin include Didi, Black Box Diaries, Love Machina, Ghostlight and I Saw the TV Glow. Of particular interest to […]
The post SXSW Announces 50 New Projects for Its 2024 Program, Including Films from Michael Mohan, Nicole Riegel and Alice Lowe first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post SXSW Announces 50 New Projects for Its 2024 Program, Including Films from Michael Mohan, Nicole Riegel and Alice Lowe first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/7/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
El éxito del terror indie en Sundance: “Talk to Me” pasa el testigo a “I Saw the TV Glow” en su 40ª edición.
El Festival de Cine de Sundance ha terminado y por ello os traemos nuestro análisis del festival. Un festival en el que anteriormente se estrenaron mundialmente películas muy aclamadas como “Brooklyn”, “Hereditary”, “Manchester By The Sea”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Get Out” o “Whiplash”. Y es que, esta temporada de premios aún no ha terminado y ya estamos con los ojos puestos en las películas de Sundance para ver cuál ha destacado y si alguna de ellas podría unirse a esta lista de películas aclamadas que tuvieron su estreno en el festival. Así que, pasemos al análisis.
Como siempre, para obtener una visión más clara acerca de las reacciones del festival, hemos optado por realizar un análisis utilizando como fuente los datos de Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic y Letterboxd.
El Festival de Cine de Sundance ha terminado y por ello os traemos nuestro análisis del festival. Un festival en el que anteriormente se estrenaron mundialmente películas muy aclamadas como “Brooklyn”, “Hereditary”, “Manchester By The Sea”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Get Out” o “Whiplash”. Y es que, esta temporada de premios aún no ha terminado y ya estamos con los ojos puestos en las películas de Sundance para ver cuál ha destacado y si alguna de ellas podría unirse a esta lista de películas aclamadas que tuvieron su estreno en el festival. Así que, pasemos al análisis.
Como siempre, para obtener una visión más clara acerca de las reacciones del festival, hemos optado por realizar un análisis utilizando como fuente los datos de Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic y Letterboxd.
- 1/31/2024
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
There are a few silver linings of covering Sundance remotely, which — as a critic with two young children and a marriage that I would still like to have at the end of the month — I elected to do for the fourth consecutive year. You don’t have to wait in lines, sit through the same ads about “the power of storytelling” before every screening, or stare longingly at nearby ski slopes as you take a deep breath and head into a high school auditorium to watch a documentary that will be on Netflix three days later.
More significantly, “doing Sundance” from the relative comforts of Eric Adams’ New York City has a way of unburdening the films you watch from the pressure forced upon them in Park City, where each premiere is attended by some of the most generous audiences on the planet…and also the unreasonable expectation that what...
More significantly, “doing Sundance” from the relative comforts of Eric Adams’ New York City has a way of unburdening the films you watch from the pressure forced upon them in Park City, where each premiere is attended by some of the most generous audiences on the planet…and also the unreasonable expectation that what...
- 1/29/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Sundance Film Festival has wrapped in snowy Park City, and Deadline was on the ground to watch all of the key films. Here is a compilation of our reviews from the fest, which include festival award winners like Daughters, the documentary that took the Festival Favorite Award, and A Real Pain, which won the Waldo Salt Screenwriter Award for its writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg.
Other pics include several that were scooped up by distributors, led by Steven Soderbergh’s ghost story Presence selling to Neon, A Real Pain going to Searchlight, Ghostlight to IFC Films, and Netflix’s smash $17 million deal for It’s What’s Inside.
Check out the reviews below, click on the titles to read them in full, and keep checking back as we add more.
The American Society of Magical Negroes (L-r) Justice Smith and David Alan Grier in ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’
Section: Premieres
Director-screenwriter: Kobi Libii
Cast: Justice Smith,...
Other pics include several that were scooped up by distributors, led by Steven Soderbergh’s ghost story Presence selling to Neon, A Real Pain going to Searchlight, Ghostlight to IFC Films, and Netflix’s smash $17 million deal for It’s What’s Inside.
Check out the reviews below, click on the titles to read them in full, and keep checking back as we add more.
The American Society of Magical Negroes (L-r) Justice Smith and David Alan Grier in ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’
Section: Premieres
Director-screenwriter: Kobi Libii
Cast: Justice Smith,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Damon Wise, Valerie Complex and Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
This year, Sundance saw big deals go down for “A Real Pain”, “It’s What’s Inside”, “Presence” (Neon), and “My Old Ass” as well as smaller acquisitions for “Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics), “Ghostlight” (IFC Films), and “Ibelin”(Netflix).
It’s not the same bull market as the old days, but we’ll take it. And while streamers made their presence felt with the two largest acquisitions to date, it’s clear that for most of these films theatrical will be part of their lifecycles. But is that a smart move?
Based on last year’s results, the answer is: Could be. Domestic box office from all Sundance 2023 films was the best for any year since Covid. At around $100 million, it quadrupled the take from 2022 Festival titles (around $25 million). All told, about two thirds of the 2023 films have some sort of domestic distribution, including streaming outlets. Of these, about a dozen films have yet to open.
It’s not the same bull market as the old days, but we’ll take it. And while streamers made their presence felt with the two largest acquisitions to date, it’s clear that for most of these films theatrical will be part of their lifecycles. But is that a smart move?
Based on last year’s results, the answer is: Could be. Domestic box office from all Sundance 2023 films was the best for any year since Covid. At around $100 million, it quadrupled the take from 2022 Festival titles (around $25 million). All told, about two thirds of the 2023 films have some sort of domestic distribution, including streaming outlets. Of these, about a dozen films have yet to open.
- 1/27/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
IFC Films and Sapan Studio have acquired the North American rights to “Ghostlight,” the second film from “Saint Frances” directors Alex Thompson & Kelly O’Sullivan which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film stars Keith Kupferer as Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ When the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to address a recent tragedy.
Kupfarer stars alongside his wife, Tara Mallen, and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer, who recently starred in the film adaptation of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” “Triangle of Sadness” star Dolly De Leon rounds out the main cast.
“Alex and I have long admired IFC Films’ fierce championing of independent cinema and are thrilled to be partnering with a leader in the space along with Sapan Studio to release ‘Ghostlight,” O’Sullivan said in a statement.
The film stars Keith Kupferer as Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ When the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to address a recent tragedy.
Kupfarer stars alongside his wife, Tara Mallen, and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer, who recently starred in the film adaptation of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” “Triangle of Sadness” star Dolly De Leon rounds out the main cast.
“Alex and I have long admired IFC Films’ fierce championing of independent cinema and are thrilled to be partnering with a leader in the space along with Sapan Studio to release ‘Ghostlight,” O’Sullivan said in a statement.
- 1/25/2024
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
IFC Films and Sapan Studio have acquired North American rights to Sundance dramedy Ghostlight as the Sundance deals continnue to trickle in heading into the closing weekend.
Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan directed the story of a melancholic construction worker who joins a local production of Romeo And Juliet and addresses a recent tragedy when the play mirrors his own life.
Ghostlight debuted in Premieres on opening day and screens again on Friday and throughout the weekend. The real-life acting family of Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer star alongside Dolly De Leon.
IFC Films plans...
Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan directed the story of a melancholic construction worker who joins a local production of Romeo And Juliet and addresses a recent tragedy when the play mirrors his own life.
Ghostlight debuted in Premieres on opening day and screens again on Friday and throughout the weekend. The real-life acting family of Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer star alongside Dolly De Leon.
IFC Films plans...
- 1/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films and Sapan Studio announced today that they have acquired the North American rights to Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan’s Ghostlight out of the Sundance premiere section.
The movie stars a real-life family of actors Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen, and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret) alongside Golden Globe nominee Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness). A theatrical release is planned for this year.
Ghostlight centers on Keith Kupferer, in a star-making performance, as Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. When the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to address a recent tragedy. The pic is currently 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Movie was produced by Thompson, Pierce Craven, Chelsea Krant, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker and Alex Wilson. Variety had the break on Ghostlight.
The movie stars a real-life family of actors Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen, and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret) alongside Golden Globe nominee Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness). A theatrical release is planned for this year.
Ghostlight centers on Keith Kupferer, in a star-making performance, as Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. When the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to address a recent tragedy. The pic is currently 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Movie was produced by Thompson, Pierce Craven, Chelsea Krant, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker and Alex Wilson. Variety had the break on Ghostlight.
- 1/25/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
IFC Films and Sapan Studio have acquired the North American rights to “Ghostlight” following its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival, where the tender-hearted drama drew strong reviews.
The film is the sophomore feature from Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan and follows their critically acclaimed 2019 debut “Saint Frances.” It stars a real-life family of actors — Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer — as well as Golden Globe nominee Dolly De Leon, a breakout for her turn in “Triangle of Sadness.” IFC Films plans to release the film in theaters later this year.
“Ghostlight” centers around Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” But as the onstage drama mirrors his own life, Dan and his family are forced to grapple with a recent tragedy. In his Variety review, Peter Debruge wrote that the story was “beautifully told,...
The film is the sophomore feature from Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan and follows their critically acclaimed 2019 debut “Saint Frances.” It stars a real-life family of actors — Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer — as well as Golden Globe nominee Dolly De Leon, a breakout for her turn in “Triangle of Sadness.” IFC Films plans to release the film in theaters later this year.
“Ghostlight” centers around Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” But as the onstage drama mirrors his own life, Dan and his family are forced to grapple with a recent tragedy. In his Variety review, Peter Debruge wrote that the story was “beautifully told,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Dolly de Leon realized she needed to say goodbye.
The Filipino actress who landed on Hollywood’s radar last year with her turn in “Triangle of Sadness” as Abigail, a toilet cleaner who becomes the domineering leader of the pampered survivors of a cruise ship disaster, had become so deeply entwined with her character that it was starting to take a toll.
“I was carrying Abigail for a long time,” de Leon says via Zoom from her hotel room in Germany, where she’s about to start shooting the Hulu series, “Nine Perfect Strangers.” “She was getting in the way, without me being even aware of it. It was driving me a bit crazy.”
But even as she struggled to turn the page on “Triangle of Sadness,” which earned her Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, de Leon moved seamlessly from one project to another. At this year’s Sundance, she has two new movies,...
The Filipino actress who landed on Hollywood’s radar last year with her turn in “Triangle of Sadness” as Abigail, a toilet cleaner who becomes the domineering leader of the pampered survivors of a cruise ship disaster, had become so deeply entwined with her character that it was starting to take a toll.
“I was carrying Abigail for a long time,” de Leon says via Zoom from her hotel room in Germany, where she’s about to start shooting the Hulu series, “Nine Perfect Strangers.” “She was getting in the way, without me being even aware of it. It was driving me a bit crazy.”
But even as she struggled to turn the page on “Triangle of Sadness,” which earned her Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, de Leon moved seamlessly from one project to another. At this year’s Sundance, she has two new movies,...
- 1/20/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Live theater serves a therapeutic role for the actors involved in “Ghostlight,” an emotional “let’s put on a show”-style indie that, fittingly enough, came together during last year’s actors strike. The sensitive — but also considerably more conservative — follow-up project for “Saint Frances” screenwriter Kelly O’Sullivan and co-director (and partner) Alex Thompson celebrates the healing power of art, as a family shaken by its eldest son’s suicide uses a community theater production of “Romeo and Juliet” to work through emotions they haven’t been able to discuss openly at home.
O’Sullivan has a natural storytelling gift, coupled with a knack for comedy. Here, she takes elements that feature regularly in Sundance Film Festival dramas — grieving families, difficult teens, small-town communities — and rearranges them into a surprising and moving narrative. (Small wonder that the film was invited to premiere in Park City.) Some might reject that approach as being manipulative,...
O’Sullivan has a natural storytelling gift, coupled with a knack for comedy. Here, she takes elements that feature regularly in Sundance Film Festival dramas — grieving families, difficult teens, small-town communities — and rearranges them into a surprising and moving narrative. (Small wonder that the film was invited to premiere in Park City.) Some might reject that approach as being manipulative,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Getting impatient for Kenneth Lonergan to get his act together and make another great movie? Ghostlight should scratch that itch and more besides, being a funny, intelligent and yet at times almost unbearably sad movie that takes a searing family tragedy and spins it into a riveting redemption story that, while a little predictable in the more familiar second half, somehow never hits a false note. Although technically an ensemble piece, with a lovely cast of supporting players whose thespian antics will ring a bell with actors of all generations, it rests squarely on a powerhouse performance from Chicago stage veteran Keith Kupferer, whose career must surely about to enter a whole new phase, perhaps to the fill the void left by the late, great Brian Dennehy.
Directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, who caused a splash at SXSW in 2019 with Saint Frances, Ghostlight opens with a curtain-up, as...
Directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, who caused a splash at SXSW in 2019 with Saint Frances, Ghostlight opens with a curtain-up, as...
- 1/19/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Sundance film festival: Triangle of Sadness star Dolly De Leon steals scenes in an endearing story of a real family wrapped up in a lo-fi staging of Romeo and Juliet
The film-makers Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson know their way around the peaks and valleys of the everyday. Their breakout 2019 feature Saint Frances, written and starring O’Sullivan, sublimated what could be big strokes of drama – abortion, postpartum depression, getting older, lost time – into the unremarkable (on the outside) relationship between an aimless 34-year-old and her six-year-old nannying charge. The daily humors and challenges in one woman’s life were not particularly dramatic or arresting, but rendered with such curiosity and acceptance as to feel radical.
Ghostlight, the duo’s new feature premiering at the Sundance film festival, traffics in a similar leveling of mundanity and insight. (It’s also written by O’Sullivan.) There’s an appealing naturalness to the project,...
The film-makers Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson know their way around the peaks and valleys of the everyday. Their breakout 2019 feature Saint Frances, written and starring O’Sullivan, sublimated what could be big strokes of drama – abortion, postpartum depression, getting older, lost time – into the unremarkable (on the outside) relationship between an aimless 34-year-old and her six-year-old nannying charge. The daily humors and challenges in one woman’s life were not particularly dramatic or arresting, but rendered with such curiosity and acceptance as to feel radical.
Ghostlight, the duo’s new feature premiering at the Sundance film festival, traffics in a similar leveling of mundanity and insight. (It’s also written by O’Sullivan.) There’s an appealing naturalness to the project,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Adrian Horton in Park City, Utah
- The Guardian - Film News
Is there a more exhaustively, and exhaustingly, tackled theme in American independent film than grief?
Festival lineups and arthouses are littered with stories — some somber, some quirk-laden — of loss and trauma, mourning and memory, learning to live and love again after the passing of a child, a spouse, a sibling, a parent. Despite sublime exceptions like Manchester by the Sea and Rachel Getting Married, a dispiriting majority are basically cinematic white noise; there’s a numbing, rinse-and-repeat sameness to all the emotional repression, breakthroughs and release. Trying to take a shortcut to our most painful feelings, these films have the contrary effect of activating our defenses or, worse, our indifference.
Luckily, there are portraits of grief that bulldoze past our resistance, and their own shortcomings, thanks to the sheer force of their sincerity. Ghostlight, from Chicago-based writing-directing team Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, is one of them. A dramedy about...
Festival lineups and arthouses are littered with stories — some somber, some quirk-laden — of loss and trauma, mourning and memory, learning to live and love again after the passing of a child, a spouse, a sibling, a parent. Despite sublime exceptions like Manchester by the Sea and Rachel Getting Married, a dispiriting majority are basically cinematic white noise; there’s a numbing, rinse-and-repeat sameness to all the emotional repression, breakthroughs and release. Trying to take a shortcut to our most painful feelings, these films have the contrary effect of activating our defenses or, worse, our indifference.
Luckily, there are portraits of grief that bulldoze past our resistance, and their own shortcomings, thanks to the sheer force of their sincerity. Ghostlight, from Chicago-based writing-directing team Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, is one of them. A dramedy about...
- 1/19/2024
- by Jon Frosch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Most reviews of Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s tender dramedy “Ghostlight” are likely to start with a definition of the title, but we’ll try to subvert that expectation a bit here.
Instead, we’ll open with a quote from this publication (and this very writer) on the pair’s uncanny knack for making gems that have loglines that don’t (that can’t) do justice to the tales they spin. The pair’s first feature, the similarly winning “Saint Frances,” packed what seemed like a downer of a description: “After an accidental pregnancy turned abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds an unlikely friendship with the 6-year-old she’s charged with protecting.” As the duo told IndieWire in 2021, “We struggled with that line too. It’s so funny, every time we describe the movie, we just want to say like, ‘We know, but—’” (that’s O’Sullivan), with Thompson cutting in,...
Instead, we’ll open with a quote from this publication (and this very writer) on the pair’s uncanny knack for making gems that have loglines that don’t (that can’t) do justice to the tales they spin. The pair’s first feature, the similarly winning “Saint Frances,” packed what seemed like a downer of a description: “After an accidental pregnancy turned abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds an unlikely friendship with the 6-year-old she’s charged with protecting.” As the duo told IndieWire in 2021, “We struggled with that line too. It’s so funny, every time we describe the movie, we just want to say like, ‘We know, but—’” (that’s O’Sullivan), with Thompson cutting in,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Park City – Sometimes, the star of the movie isn’t the cast or the director. It’s not the cinematography or the score. Sometimes, you watch a film and realize you’re experiencing the unfurling of a pretty fantastic screenplay. That’s the case with “Ghostlight,” which debuted at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival today and was written by uber-talented screenwriter Kelly O’Sullivan.
Read More: Sundance 2024: The 23 Most Anticipated Movies To Watch
Co-directed by O’Sullivan and her “Saint Frances” collaborator Alex Thompson, “Ghostlight” shines a spotlight on Dan (Keith Kupferer), a blue-collar construction worker who can barely focus on his job.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Read More: Sundance 2024: The 23 Most Anticipated Movies To Watch
Co-directed by O’Sullivan and her “Saint Frances” collaborator Alex Thompson, “Ghostlight” shines a spotlight on Dan (Keith Kupferer), a blue-collar construction worker who can barely focus on his job.
Continue reading ‘Ghostlight’ Review: A Family Finds Solace In Community Theater [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/18/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Fusion Entertainment has signed Keith Kupferer, the veteran stage and screen actor whose new film “Ghostlight” premieres this week at the Sundance Film Festival. Kupferer has also recently been cast in a recurring role in the new MGM+ series “Emperor of Ocean Park” from John Wells, which is currently in production in Chicago. The thriller series is based on the best selling novel by Stephen L. Carter.
“Ghostlight” centers on Dan (Kupferer), a melancholic middle-aged construction worker, who is grieving a family tragedy. Cut off from his devoted wife, Sharon (Tara Mallen), and talented but troubled daughter, Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), Dan finds comfort a local theater production of “Romeo & Juliet” featuring a company of amateur actors. “Ghostlight” is directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, who are also clients of Fusion Entertainment.)
Kupferer will also continue to be repped by the Grey Talent Group.
A seasoned stage performer,...
“Ghostlight” centers on Dan (Kupferer), a melancholic middle-aged construction worker, who is grieving a family tragedy. Cut off from his devoted wife, Sharon (Tara Mallen), and talented but troubled daughter, Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), Dan finds comfort a local theater production of “Romeo & Juliet” featuring a company of amateur actors. “Ghostlight” is directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, who are also clients of Fusion Entertainment.)
Kupferer will also continue to be repped by the Grey Talent Group.
A seasoned stage performer,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Just a few short hours before the first wave of films hit the big screen to kick off the milestone 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers offered high praise for what Robert Redford and his team started here in Park City.
“Sundance is a vital, vital part of the entertainment ecosystem, and I think it’s undervalued in that way,” said Jason Blum as he took the stage inside the Filmmakers Lodge on Thursday morning to moderate Sundance Scoop, a press conference and conversation that set the stage for this year’s fest. “Without Sundance, the United States would not be where it is in entertainment, and I really think not enough people make that connection.”
To be fair, Blum is the ultimate Sundance insider. He’s been attending the festival since 1992. One of his first major screenings was Ben Stiller’s...
“Sundance is a vital, vital part of the entertainment ecosystem, and I think it’s undervalued in that way,” said Jason Blum as he took the stage inside the Filmmakers Lodge on Thursday morning to moderate Sundance Scoop, a press conference and conversation that set the stage for this year’s fest. “Without Sundance, the United States would not be where it is in entertainment, and I really think not enough people make that connection.”
To be fair, Blum is the ultimate Sundance insider. He’s been attending the festival since 1992. One of his first major screenings was Ben Stiller’s...
- 1/18/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With their upcoming pic Ghostlight premiering this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker duo Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson have landed new reps signing with Gersh.
The film, which O’Sullivan wrote and co-directed with Thompson, who also produced, debuts in the Premiere section of Sundance on January 18.
Their previous film, Saint Frances, starring and written by O’Sullivan, and directed by Thompson premiered at SXSW in 2019, winning a Special Jury Prize for “Breakthrough Voice” and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature. Released in 2020, the film was one of the most acclaimed independent films of the year and was nominated for three Gotham Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and named by the National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the year.
O’Sullivan and Thompson will next collaborate on Mouse, a dramatic coming-of-age comedy written by O’Sullivan, which they will also co-direct...
The film, which O’Sullivan wrote and co-directed with Thompson, who also produced, debuts in the Premiere section of Sundance on January 18.
Their previous film, Saint Frances, starring and written by O’Sullivan, and directed by Thompson premiered at SXSW in 2019, winning a Special Jury Prize for “Breakthrough Voice” and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature. Released in 2020, the film was one of the most acclaimed independent films of the year and was nominated for three Gotham Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and named by the National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the year.
O’Sullivan and Thompson will next collaborate on Mouse, a dramatic coming-of-age comedy written by O’Sullivan, which they will also co-direct...
- 1/16/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
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