Top 100 Most Anticipated American Indie Films of 2018: #92. Jeremiah Zagar’s We the Animals

We the Animals

Cutting his teeth in the docu and short form, Jeremiah Zagar (Emmy-nominated for 2014’s Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart) shot We the Animals in summer of 2016 and benefitted from a slew of support in Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Creative Producing Labs, Sundance Directing & Screenwriting Labs, post-prod coin (SFFS) and support from Cinereach, this is a true first foray into fiction filmmaking.

With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Zagar based on the celebrated Justin Torres novel, this is about three boys tear through their rural New York hometown, in the midst of their young parents’ volatile love that makes and unmakes the family many times over. While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father (Raúl Castillo), Ma (Sheila Vand) seeks to keep her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. Featuring the dp work of Zak Mulligan (who made a remarkable entry at Sundance with 2010’s Obselidia) we’re hoping for a little hope mixed up with a little bruising a la David Gordon Green’s George Washington.

Release Date/Prediction: A major indication that we might have a gem on our hands, We the Animals was lassoed for the NEXT section at Sundance.