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Exclusive: Ryan Kampe’s Visit Films heads to Cannes with a sales slate of completed titles including upcoming Tribeca Festival world premiere Our Hero, Balthazar, and SXSW selections The Dutchman, Fantasy Life, Baby Doe, and Brother Verses Brother.

Oscar Boyson’s satire Our Hero, Balthazar will screen privately for buyers ahead of its Tribeca slot and follows a wealthy New York teenager who posts on social media calling for stricter gun control in the hopes that his activist-minded crush will notice. When an online troll comments on his video and messages Balthazar, he becomes convinced that he is communicating with...

Since its launch in 1995, the Slamdance Film Festival has been full to bursting with micro-budgeted concoctions from emerging artists who receded as fast as they emerged. But the festival has launched numerous big-deal careers. Rian Johnson (Evil Demon Golf Ball from Hell!!!), Christopher Nolan (Following), and Joe and Anthony Russo (Pieces) are among the filmmakers who jumped more than one rung on the directing ladder thanks to Slamdance. What’s more common is that the festival is a notch on the career bedpost for fringe, first-time filmmakers who gave it an honest try and, if they're lucky, will get to try again someday. That’s what happens when a Slamdance entry can’t quite lay claim to a major talent being born.

Onto that list comes Sabrina Greco, whose languid and intermittently interesting debut feature, Lockjaw, premiered at the 2025 Slamdance festival, which has relocated to Los Angeles from its former home in Salt Lake City,...

Celebrating 21 years of independent, breakout cinema and its first year in its new LA home, Slamdance 2025 kicks off for another edition of bold, original storytelling. First up on our docket is Cory Santilli’s In The Mouth, a crisp black-and-white comedy that operates on dream logic and plays by its own rules. A surprisingly personal film for how absurd it gives itself permission to be, but hands down one of the highlights of this year’s festival.

In The Mouth stars Colin Burgess (Inspector Ike) as an anxiety-riddled man named Merl, desperately looking for roommate. If he can’t scrape together some extra cash fast, he’s going to get evicted. But desperation doesn’t exactly attract the most trustworthy people and Merl is too occupied with his own problems to notice that he’s just welcomed a dangerous criminal into his home. It’s a real will-they/won’t-they-kill-eachother-in-their-sleep...

Chicago – “Lockjaw” … a comedy of one wild night in the life of a woman recovering from an auto accident …will make its World Premiere at the 31st Slamdance Film Festival on February 22nd, in Los Angeles. Writer/director Sabrina Greco will be with cast and crew on Premiere Night. For “Lockjaw” tickets/info, click Lockjaw.

Six weeks after a drunk driving accident that left her jaw wired shut, Rayna (Blu Hunt) tries to have a fun first night back out with her friends. She is restless after promising her new boyfriend, Mitch, that she will not drink. This restlessness leads to party hopping where the group eventually ends up at an another house owned by Cleo and Robert, an artist and magician respectively. While everyone else tries to have a good time, Rayna strains her existing relationships and makes new enemies.

’Lockjaw’ at 31st Slamdance Film Festival

Photo credit: Slamdance.