Institute History
Description
Reality Winner is a brilliant young misfit from a Texas border town who finds her morals challenged while serving as an NSA contractor. A sarcastic, gun-lovin, vegan, yogi, and CrossFit fanatic, Reality is an unconventional whistleblower who ends up being prosecuted for exposing Russia’s hacking of the 2016 election.
At once heartwarming and hard-hitting, Winner captures a depth of character, nuance of ideology, and historical detail that brings Reality Winner’s story to the screen with vibrancy and emotional thrust. Rarely can a true story be adapted so cinematically and with such fidelity to its subject matter. Weaving together the story of one unique family and a political landscape that has abandoned truth, Winner is a refreshing ode to people who have conviction and are willing to sacrifice to prove it.
Writer-director Susanna Fogel returns to the Premieres section with this tender political drama after bringing Cat Person to the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance regular Emilia Jones (star of CODA, Fairyland, and Cat Person) once again leads up Fogel’s terrific cast including Connie Britton, Zach Galifianakis, Kathryn Newton, and Danny Ramirez.—AH
Screenings include closed and open captions, as well as audio description.