Don’t Miss Indies: What to Watch in April
What shall we watch? April is bursting with fruitful seeds of storytelling, and everything’s coming up Riz Ahmed and Michaela Cole. Both actors lead two different releases this month, including Bait and The Christophers, respectively – each screened in a members-only Film Independent Presents! Read on for our top ten recommendations.
HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS
When You Can Watch: April 6
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Markian Tarasiuk
Cast: Miranda MacDougall, Markian Tarasiuk, Christine Willes
Why We’re Excited: Inspired by public interest in true crime stories, newcomer Tarasiuk’s documentary-style horror film follows Tara Nichols (Miranda MacDougall, When Calls the Heart) back to her hometown on Vancouver Island. Twenty years after her brother’s disappearance, Tara goes in search of him – armed with her skills as a documentary filmmaker and newly released police evidence. Tarasiuk (There’s Someone Inside Your House) plays himself as the director of Tara’s film, and as the two conduct their investigation they begin to suspect Matthew Nichols may yet live. “Even though we’re blending mockumentary, found footage, and traditional narrative, the goal was never to ‘perform’ those styles,” Tarasiuk told Pop Culture Unplugged, “but to fully commit to them. I wanted the audience to feel like they were uncovering something, not watching something that had been constructed for them.” Film Independent member Lucy McNulty is a producer.
THE CHRISTOPHERS
When You Can Watch: April 8
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen, Jessica Gunning
Why We’re Excited: Spirit Award winner Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape) developed this “two people in a room” script specifically for Spirit Award winner Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters) and Michaela Coel (Spirit Award-winning I May Destroy You) – knowing it was a bad idea but choosing to double down. “The movie lives or dies on the text and the performances,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, “and coming up with ways to keep it interesting to look at…Every shot, every scene, every line has to prove that it deserves to be in the movie.” In Christophers, an artist’s adult children – James Corden (The Late Late Show with James Corden) and Spirit Award winner Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer) – hire a forger (Coel) to complete unfinished works in hopes of gaining an inheritance from their father (McKellan). What begins as something of an art heist ushers in deeper thoughts about the nature of art and relevance.
THE TRAVEL COMPANION
When You Can Watch: April 10
Where You Can Watch: Limited Theaters
Directors: Alex Mallis, Travis Wood
Cast: Tristan Turner, Anthony Oberbeck, Joanna Arnow
Why We’re Excited: Alex Mallis and Travis Wood’s directorial debut is an observant comedy about friendship that premiered at Tribeca. Simon (Tristan Turner, Et Tu) is a struggling filmmaker, feeling overlooked among his peers like Beatrice (Naomi Asa) and Jess (Spirit Award nominee Joanna Arnow, The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed). But at least Simon has one thing going for him – free air travel, thanks to companion status with his roommate Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck, Reveries: Going Deeper), who works for an airline. But when Beatrice and Bruce start dating, it jeopardizes Simon’s hopes to complete his sprawling documentary that relies heavily on gathering footage from around the world. Simon becomes preoccupied with the possibility of losing his travel privileges to Beatrice, and as his jealousy rises so does the awkwardness between all three of them. Executive Produced by Film Independent member Neil Champagne.
HAMLET
When You Can Watch: April 10
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Aneil Karia
Stars: Riz Ahmed, Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn
Why We’re Excited: Shakespeare’s tragedy has held a deep connection for Spirit Award winner Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) since a drama teacher introduced it to him at the age of 17. After collaborating with Aneil Karia (Surge) on a short film, titled The Long Goodbye, the concept of a modern-day Hamlet that had bounced around production studios for ten years began to find its legs. “I realized: here’s a director who’s worked with a lot of rappers,” Ahmed said of Karia in a THR interview, “and has found a way of taking that elevated register, taking a gritty contemporary environment and making it feel elevated and poetic.” The setting – London’s South Asian community – reflects the cultural values of the material, with spirit possession, blood debt, forbidden romance, and even levirate marriage still alive and well. Karia’s vision focuses the action around Hamlet, giving us a chance to get into his head and understand the whole story through his experience, putting Ahmed’s quiet intensity on display.
MOTHER MARY
When You Can Watch: April 17
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Writer/Director: David Lowery
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer
Why We’re Excited: The pop thriller from David Lowery (A Ghost Story) is an intriguing mashup of genres that has Spirit Award nominee Anne Hathaway (Eileen) as Mother Mary, trying to recapture her artistic identity. Her career has been disrupted by a rift with best friend and costume designer Sam (Michaela Coel, Spirit Award-winning I May Destroy You), as well as a supernatural element that is hinted at in the trailer. With original music from Jack Antanoff, Charlie xcx, and FKA twigs, Mary is a whole new kind of feather in Lowery’s eclectic career cap, inspired by his own artistic quest. “I started writing a dialogue between the part of me that could make Disney movies and the part of me that could make The Green Knight,” he told Filmmaker Magazine. “It sounds reductive to say it that way because of course I can make both. I love all forms of cinema. But in that moment, I was confused, and that confusion – my search for clarity – became the early pages of the screenplay.”
NORMAL
When You Can Watch: April 17
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan
Why We’re Excited: From the creator of the John Wick and Nobody franchises, Derek Kostad, Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul) is the new sheriff of a small town where every citizen has a gun and where his predecessor died mysteriously. Though the new lawman is only a sub until the next election – and seems completely “normal” but for one or two interesting skills – Ulysses is put in the center of a major upheaval when a bank robbery goes wrong, turning the whole town into a conspiracy against the law. To navigate the complexities of the story, Ben Wheatley (Free Fire) drew on Odenkirk’s depth and range as an actor, even dropping lines from the script to allow his inner workings to speak for themselves. Resulting in a high-energy action flick with subtlety and depth.
MAD BILLS TO PAY
When You Can Watch: April 15
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Writer/Director: Joel Alfonso Vargas
Stars: Juan Collado, Destiny Checo, Yohanna Florentino
Why We’re Excited: Joel Alfonso Vargas expands on his short film, Que te vaya bonito to explore coming of age as Rico (Juan Collado, Ghosts of Fort Greene), a 19-year-old selling drinks on the beach must find a way to provide for his girlfriend (Destiny Checo, who was also in the short) and unborn child. Though he’s confident his beverage sales are about to bloom, Rico’s mom and sister are less impressed. Vargas’ locked-down camera and free exchange between actors lends to a slice of life in a Dominican neighborhood of The Bronx, letting Rico’s optimism and carefree charm shine while he ambles toward maturity. For a microbudget project shooting 12 pages a day, Vargas embraces his constraints and makes them work for the story, which premiered at Sundance. Executive Produced by Film Independent members Tyler Boehm, Chris Quintos Cathcart, Robina Riccitiello and Julie Waters.
BAIT
When You Can Watch: April 23
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Creator: Riz Ahmed
Cast: Riz Ahmed, Guz Khan, Aasiya Shah
Why We’re Excited: A smart, satirical comedy series about Shah Latif – Spirit Award winner Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) – and the role of a lifetime. Can a struggling actor of South Asian descent play the international man of mystery, James Bond? The world has feelings about this. Over the course of four days, we watch Shah’s world explode with potential, both for better and worse. As an actor starring in a show about acting, Ahmed explores genres in each episode, from spy-thriller to rom-com and family drama, embracing the realities of life in a world that hands you a clever talking point followed by a banana peel. Who are you? What do you really want? And can fame help or hurt your chances of getting it? All through the lens of casting culture, family of origin, and industry expectations. What exactly has Shah gotten into by taking the Bait?
OMAHA
When You Can Watch: April 24
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Cole Webley
Stars: John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis
Why We’re Excited: After directing many a TV commercial, Cole Webley’s first first foray into features was catalyzed by the purity of Robert Machoian’s script. “It’s a story about dads,” he told IndieWire, “there’s many elements to it, but that was one that really, really grabbed a hold of me.” The road trip drama centers on a young family of three – a dad (John Magaro, Past Lives) and two kids, Ella and Charlie. Awoken early on a 2008 morning to drive cross-country without explanation, Ella pieces together clues about their spontaneous trip through the American West. The three performances make for a poignant coming-of-age that showcases the power of family. Film Independent member Preston Lee is a producer and Meg Morman did casting.
PROGRAMMER’S PICK: THE BLUE TRAIL
When You Can Watch: April 3
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Gabriel Mascaro
Cast: Denise Weinberg, Rodrigo Santoro, Miriam Socarras
Why We’re Excited: From Film Independent Lead Programmer Jenn Wilson
Winner of the Berlin International Film Festival’s 2025 Silver Bear, Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail takes us on a journey through a futuristic Brazilian society where old people are considered a nuisance to their families and shipped off to colonies so they don’t disturb the “productivity” of the younger people. Lead character Tereza (Denise Weinberg) who is 77 and forcefully retired from her job decides that she will not be moved to the colonies, however, and sets out on a plan to escape the authorities who are constantly in search of her. Director Mascaro, who started out as a documentary filmmaker, is very good at observational cinema, letting the characters and story unfold themselves before us, and the film is a beautifully imagined look at what escaping an authoritarian regime could entail. Actors Denise Weinberg, Miriam Socarras, and Rodrigo Santoro give great performances. If you can, watch this beautifully shot film in a movie theater on a big screen.
KEY
Film Independent Fellow or Member
Film Independent Presents Screening, Q&A
Microbudget
Filmmaker or Lead Characters of Color
Film Independent Spirit Award Winner or Nominee
Female Filmmaker
LGBT Filmmaker or Lead LGBT Characters
First-time Filmmaker
LA Film Fest Winner or Nominee
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