Next Wave Spotlight: Act One

Next Wave Spotlight
Director Sophia Takal expected to attend

High school senior and aspiring actress Hannah (Ella Beatty, fresh off of her debut in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) already feels her dreams slipping away from her. Though only 18 years old, she delivers a line from Ibsen’s A Doll House with uncanny insight: “It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life.” Hannah feels kneecapped by her suburban existence, going totally unnoticed by her peers and receiving no encouragement from her parents. It’s why she’s entirely vulnerable to the mentorship of Melanie (Ari Graynor), an autocratic acting teacher whose cult of personality is thinly veiled as a workshop. Melanie’s guidance will totally transform Hannah’s life; pushed to wild extremes, the timid pupil turns out to be full of surprises. Act One is both a coming-of-age story and psychological thriller with teeth. Filmmaker Sophia Takal has created a counterpoint to so many obsessed-artist parables, striking a unique balance of character depth and genuine shock value. — David Cohn

West Coast Premiere

Sophia Takal is a filmmaker, writer, and director whose work explores intimacy, power, and psychological tension. She first gained recognition in the independent film world with Green (2011), which premiered at SXSW and earned the Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Prize. Her subsequent features include Always Shine (2016), a psychological thriller examining female friendship and competition, and Black Christmas (2019), which she co-wrote and directed. Takal has also directed episodes of television series including One of Us Is Lying, Gossip Girl, and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Her latest feature, Act One (2026), premiered at the Tribeca Festival.