Mouse

2002, North Little Rock, Arkansas. Besties Minnie and Callie are getting ready for their high school senior year. Charismatic Callie, a singer and performer, is the town’s golden child, while the more awkward Minnie has grown up in her protective shadow. When their friendship is suddenly upended by a tragic accident, Minnie is left rudderless. Struggling to find herself and looking for companionship, Minnie forms a complicated relationship with Callie’s mother, who is also seeking solace from her grief. (Sophie Okonedo).

With their latest gem, Chicago-based filmmaking duo Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan (Ghostlight, Saint Francis), deliver another deeply authentic and bittersweet drama about people coming of age and reckoning with who they are and their relationships with the people closest to them. Anchored by powerful performances from Okonedo, as well as Ghostlight stars Katherine Mallen-Kupferer and her real-life mother Tara Mallen, it is a superbly told, cathartic story filled with warmth and emotion.