2025 | United States | Fiction

DUST TO MALIBU

  • English 141 mins
  • Director | Stephen Ward
  • Writer | Stephen Ward
  • Producer | Tom Bellos, Tim Daly, Shelly Gibson, Stephen Ward

STATUS: Completed

This film is currently not available.   

Handsome, upstanding Phil Carroll (Tim Daly at his charming best) knocks on the door of his 20-something daughter Jessie’s (Alex Sgambati) ramshackle home. He hasn’t seen her in a decade, yet somehow he believes she’ll be glad to talk to him, mend their estrangement, and join him on a road trip. He has another thing coming. Jessie isn’t there. She’s spending a bit of time in the local county jail – the first hint of just how broken their relationship is, and just how far they’ll both have to journey to find forgiveness. Set hard against Phil’s naivete comes Jessie’s long-simmering anger at her father, at the breakup of her parents' marriage, at herself… all delivered in a fiery performance by The Walking Dead’s Sgambati. There are historical revelations and comic misunderstandings, but the fissures in this family run deep. It’s treacherous territory, but writer-director Stephen Ward navigates it with grace and generosity.

Healing Family Estrangement Redemption Trip
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