Premiere Run!

In their second film, Shatara Michelle Ford (Test Pattern) puts their singular stamp on the American road movie. DREAMS IN NIGHTMARES stars Denée Benton (The Gilded Age) as Z, the nominal leader of a group of queer African-American college friends now in their mid-30s. Z is a writer and has a seemingly idyllic life in Los Angeles but, when she is laid off from a teaching job, she finds she still has some soul-searching to do. Cue the possibility of a road trip to track down the most free-spirited of their clique who has dropped off the map, maybe somewhere in the Midwest. Gathering roommates Tasha (Compère) and Lauren (Bing) in New York City, the trio set off on an adventure… next stop, Iowa.

Anchored in themes of chosen family and self-discovery, DREAMS IN NIGHTMARES blends humor and emotional depth against the backdrop of a journey through the heartland of the U.S. and beyond. This film is an expansive and tender ode to chosen family and to the radical act of claiming space to dream—and to exist—on one’s own terms in an increasingly fraught country. – adapted from notes by Lunette Films

“An essential new voice in Black cinema.” – Jourdain Searles, The Film Stage