Sundance Institute

Institute History

2024 Sundance Film Festival

Description

When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life.

Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan’s moving, gently comic collaboration is about the power of live theater to make sense of our offstage dramas and personal narratives. Ghostlight centers on Dan (Keith Kupferer), a melancholic middle-aged construction worker 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 and community in a misfit company of amateur actors. While moonlighting in a low-rent production of Shakespeare’s most protean tragedy, Dan is forced to confront his buried emotions. Real-life family Mallen, Kupferer, and Mallen Kupferer bring tenderness and authenticity to this poignant portrait, while Dolly de Leon — last seen stealing the scene in Triangle of Sadness — is hilarious as Dan’s irascible, improbable co-star.—MC

Screenings include closed and open captions.

Screening Details

Section: Premieres
Film Type: Narrative Feature
Country: U.S.A.
Language: English
Run Time: 115 min.

Credits

Costume Design
- Michelle Bradley
Producer
Cinematographer
- Luke Dyra
Gaffer
- Sammy Hochberg
Actor
Production Designer
- Linda Lee
Casting
Sound Design/Mix
- Tom Myers
Director
- Kelly O'Sullivan
- Alex Thompson
Screenwriter
- Kelly O'Sullivan
Editor
- Mike S. Smith
Script Supervisor
- Linh Tran
Composer
- Quinn Tsan

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