2024 (USA) 115 minutes
Directed by: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson
Deeply human, unexpectedly funny, and incomparably moving, this portrait of a family piecing itself back together is a soulful testament to the healing power of art. Adrift after a family tragedy, Chicago construction worker Dan finds himself drawn into a ragtag community theater that is preparing an unorthodox adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. When one of the actors drops out, the group convinces Dan to step up and take his role, much to his family’s—and his own—surprise. In co-director Kelly O’Sullivan’s nuanced script, Dan’s personal transformation is treated with abundant warmth, grace, and humor. Fittingly for a film about the stage, Ghostlight rests on four absolutely superb performances. A veteran of Steppenwolf and Goodman theaters, Keith Kupferer brings this character to vivid life and is matched by Tara Mallen and Katherine Mallen Kupferer as his wife and daughter—who they happen to be in real life. Meanwhile, Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness) gives a spirited and spiky turn as the head of the theater troupe.
2024 Sundance Film Festival – Premiere
2024 Seattle Int’l Film Fest – Won – Golden Needle
2024 Berkshire Int’l Film Fest – Won – Best Film
2024 Berkshire Int’l Film Fest – Won – Audience Award
2024 SXSW Film Festival – Nominated – Audience Award
Northstar Village Cinemas – December 7 – 6:30pm