Sundance Film Festival just witnessed what many are calling its most powerful film of the year.
Beth de Araújo’s “Josephine” left audiences simultaneously devastated and electrified.
Starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, this intense thriller tackles childhood trauma through a lens rarely seen in cinema.
And it’s already generating serious Oscar buzz before securing distribution.
A Story Born From Personal Trauma
De Araújo didn’t pull this narrative from thin air. During the post-screening Q&A, she revealed the deeply personal origins of “Josephine.”
When I realized something had happened when I was very young that really haunted me, I decided to take a stab at writing about female fear and how that has shaped who I’ve become, and just keep it through the eyes of an eight-year-old the entire time.
She began writing in 2014, exploring how children learn about male aggression and how fear shapes identity formation.
Her preparation went beyond personal reflection. De Araújo observed an actual court case from beginning to end, studying how the legal system processes these traumatic events.
What Makes This Film Different
While Sundance has showcased numerous films about sexual assault, “Josephine” breaks new ground with its approach.
Cinematographer Greta Zozula shot much of the film from eight-year-old Josephine’s first-person perspective. This technique places viewers directly inside a child’s experience of incomprehensible violence.
The film doesn’t shy away from horror elements either.
De Araújo employs jump scares showing the assailant’s looming presence in Josephine’s world. Philip Ettinger delivers what’s being called an astonishing wordless performance as the perpetrator who haunts this child’s daily existence.
Festival attendees reported gasps throughout screenings at the 1,260-seat Eccles Theatre, followed by standing ovations.
Finding Mason Reeves at a Farmer’s Market
Perhaps the film’s greatest discovery happened at a San Francisco farmer’s market.
De Araújo spotted young Mason Reeves buying dates for her mother and immediately saw something special.
I saw Mason running to buy a bunch of dates for her mom. I said, ‘Who’s your parent?’ And she just looked at me like, ‘Why? Are you getting me in trouble?’
After three auditions, de Araújo knew she’d found her lead. Reeves is already being hailed for delivering one of the most remarkable child performances in recent cinema.
When asked what she liked most about making the movie, Reeves simply responded at the Q&A: “All of it.”
How Tatum and Chan Prepared
Tatum drew from his own experience as father to a 12-year-old daughter, blending modern parenting approaches with older generational styles.
We just started about our own personal life experiences. Parenting now is very different. How I parent is very different from the way my dad and parents’ parents parented.
Chan emphasized the collaborative preparation process, noting that spending time together as a trio before production proved invaluable.
[My character] and Damien have very different points of view, but it’s hard to say whether either is wrong or right.
This moral ambiguity adds layers to what could have been a straightforward trauma narrative.
The Score That Changed Everything
Composer Miles Ross, who happens to be de Araújo’s real-life partner, created what attendees describe as a haunting, unforgettable score.
His creative process involved an unexpected ritual.
Before he would sit down to write the music, he would read an essay by Roxane Gay or a chapter by Roxane Gay every single time before he sat down.
This immersion in Gay’s writing about trauma, feminism, and resilience clearly informed the emotional depth of Ross’s composition.
What Happens Next
Major distributors including Neon, Searchlight, Netflix, and Magnolia attended screenings with checkbooks ready.
Industry insiders expect a significant acquisition announcement soon, likely accompanied by awards campaign plans.
The film’s festival journey continues at the Berlinale in competition. Other festival programmers reportedly attended Sundance screenings, suggesting “Josephine” will make the rounds throughout 2025.
Predictions suggest multiple wins from Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition jury, which includes directors Janicza Bravo, Nisha Ganatra, and Azazel Jacobs.
Building on “Soft and Quiet”
“Josephine” marks de Araújo’s second feature after 2022’s “Soft and Quiet,” which premiered at SXSW.
That film used first-person perspective to immerse viewers in a disturbing meeting of white-supremacist suburban mothers. Both films demonstrate de Araújo’s commitment to confronting uncomfortable truths through visceral cinematic experiences.
Her willingness to employ unconventional techniques—horror elements in trauma narratives, sustained first-person perspectives, unflinching depictions of violence—sets her apart from conventional independent filmmakers.
This isn’t cinema that comforts. It’s cinema that forces audiences to witness what many would prefer to ignore.
As Sundance Film Festival continues through February 1st, “Josephine” stands as its most talked-about title—a film born from personal trauma that refuses to look away from childhood’s darkest corners.