Ghostlight

Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson's film follows a construction worker drifting away from his family. Dan falls by accident into a community theatre production of Romeo and Juliet, and the death inside the play begins to overlap ever more closely with the grief his own household cannot discuss. The central decision is in the casting: Dan is played by Keith Kupferer, his wife by Tara Mallen and his daughter by Katherine Mallen Kupferer, and the three are a family in life. On screen this never registers as a gimmick. It simply explains where the familiarity in the scenes comes from. Dolly De Leon is in the cast and carries the sharpest voice in the theatre troupe. The film premiered at Sundance in 2024 and was acquired by IFC Films. Who it is for: viewers who like small-scale American independent drama built on performance, and stories set inside the theatre. Who it is not for: anyone wanting fast narrative or clean dramatic turns, since the film moves at the speed of grief.