2024 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Laura Chinn’s Suncoast

A recent 2020 Black List ranked un-produced screenplay that quickly moved into production with the support of the Searchlight folks (the film will likely receive a Hulu release in 2024), Laura Chinn landed the likes of Nico Parker, Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson for her directorial debut — a personal tale about her upbringing. Production on Suncoast took place in September of last year in Charleston — and most recently she landed Este Haim (yes that Haim) and Chris Stracey to compose the score. The youth-oriented film also includes Nico Parker, Ella Anderson, Daniella Perkins, Amarr and Ariel Martin.

Gist: Inspired by Chinn’s life experience from the early aughts and follows a teenager (Parker) living with her strong-willed mother (Linney), who must take her brother to live at a specialized facility. There, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist (Harrelson) amidst protests surrounding one of the most landmark medical cases of all time.

Production Co./Producers: Jeremy Plager, Francesca Silvestri, Kevin Chinoy and Oly Obst.

Prediction: Premieres.

U.S. Distributor: Searchlight.