Ghostlight
September 9, 2024 7:15 PM
When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life. Winner of Best Director (Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson) and Best Male Performance (Keith Kerferer): Seattle International Film Festival This is a beautifully life-affirming fable about the power of art to heal, but really, it’s the people making the art that do the work. Ghostlight is a stunning and incredibly moving tribute to that process. Katie Walsh/Los Angeles Times
When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront their own emotions, relationships, and deal with a difficult loss.
Filmed throughout autumnal Chicago, Ghostlight elicits a huge emotional response as a deeply moving and superbly acted meditation on grief.
This is one of the great things about film festivals: You can experience movies as a blank slate, before people like me get to them. Ghostlight is strong enough to stand on its own, but I wish everyone could experience it as I did. Or, to put it another way: Ghostlight is one of the best movies of the year, and if that’s a meaningful enough statement for you, then feel free to stop reading now. Bilge Ebiri/Vulture
Proceeds to Parkinson Canada and Cancer Assistance Program.