In a World...

A comedy set in the world of the people who voice film trailers. Carol is a voice coach. She drills accents with actors, does not earn much, and lives in her father's house. Her father is the biggest name in the business. Sam has voiced trailers for years and argues openly that there is no place for a woman's voice in it. There is a legend. A voice artist who died years ago used to open every trailer with a particular formula, and that formula has been given to nobody since. Now a large production is bringing the line back. A series of four films is being prepared and a name is being sought for the voice. Sam wants the job himself. So does his student Gustav. Carol ends up in a test recording by accident. Then she is called for a second job and is in the race without realising it. From there the film is a story about a career. Studios, sound booths, agencies and a day of listening. On a second line there is her sister. Dani works at a hotel and is going through a crisis in her marriage; this is the film's most realistic part. What the narrative is interested in is not success but voice: the film asks why a woman's voice is not accepted as authoritative and shows it with examples from inside the trade. The ending goes somewhere unexpected. After declaring a winner the narrative also opens up how the win was arranged, and nicks the victory. Lake Bell wrote, directed and starred; the screenplay won an award at Sundance. Lake Bell, Fred Melamed, Michaela Watkins and Demetri Martin are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes comedy from inside an industry and low-key independent films. Who it is not for: anyone expecting laughs; the humour is dry and some side lines are left unfinished.