IFC Films today announced that GHOSTLIGHT, acquired by the studio out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will open in Chicago and New York City on Friday, June 14th before expanding nationwide in the following weeks. The film, co-directed by Chicagoans Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, and written by O’Sullivan, will hold its Chicago premiere as the Closing Night presentation at the Chicago Film Critics Association Film Festival on May 9th, at the Music Box Theatre.
When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.
“This is a film of and by Chicagoans – written, produced, and largely crewed by Chicagoans, our lead family is a real family of actors who live and work in Chicago. There is no better place we can imagine making this film,” said writer and co-director Kelly O’Sullivan. “There is an incredible crew base here, the best working actors in theater and film, the best casting directors, and a willingness and openness to ‘getting it done’ that is, elsewhere, something you go to Chicago to find. For our Chicago community to be among the first to see GHOSTLIGHT, at the iconic Music Box Theatre, is a dream come true.”
“In the context of filmmaking, ‘independent’ means freedom, and there is no place that offers the same freedom to filmmakers as Chicago,” said co-director Alex Thompson. “Our producers have roots here, we’ve all worked here in various capacities for over a decade, so our community includes not just actors and directors but teachers, rental houses, theater owners, stage managers, film professors, bartenders, architects, musicians, and city administrators. This is the kind of multi-hyphenate below-the-line talent, ready to ‘yes, and’ ideas into existence, that just cannot be found anywhere else.”
GHOSTLIGHT is co-directed by Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, and written by O’Sullivan. The film stars real life Chicago family Keith Kupferer, Tara Mallen, and Katherine Mallen Kupferer; and Dolly De Leon. Luke Dyra is Cinematographer, the film is edited by Mike S. Smith. The film is produced by Alex Thompson, Chelsea Krant, Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker, and Alex Wilson. GHOSTLIGHT has a running time of approximately 115 minutes, and opens June 14, 2024 in Chicago and New York before expanding nationwide on June 19, 2024.