JOSEPHINE

Description

Directed by Beth de Araújo

U.S. | 2026 | Fiction | 121 min | English

Sponsored by Allison Dersch

Friday, October 23 | 4:00 PM | FH

Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic, Sundance Film Festival  Winner, Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival Beth de Araújo’s Sundance sensation locks into the perspective of troubled eight-year-old Josephine. During an early morning run with her father through Golden Gate Park, Josephine (incredible newcomer Mason Reeves) witnesses a stranger rape a jogger. Her father, Damien (Channing Tatum, shading his familiar girl-dad persona with layers of belligerent helplessness), chases the man off, calls the police, then assists in the suspect’s apprehension. In an instant, Josephine's innocence is shattered. Throughout the legal fallout, she’s forced to make complicated choices while grappling with profound trauma she isn't able understand, let alone articulate. She starts acting out in school and home, displaying concerning behavior requiring intervention from her feuding parents, counselors, and child psychologists. Through expressive visuals and tactful formal conceits, de Araújo crafts a humanistic gut-punch of a movie, a harrowing crucible that illustrates the fragility and resilience of developing minds. Please note: this movie contains a graphic scene of sexual assault. ~OO