Eight-year-old Cal desperately craves attention from her childish father, and is prone to running away. John is a lonely widower whose life is filled with fear. When they meet one weekend in the shining woods of New England, their lives change forever.
Acting
Oona Laurence's chaotic kid energy is terrifyingly real
Direction
Burgdorff lets scenes breathe past comfort zones
Writing
Dialogue that stumbles exactly like actual humans
Director
Douglas James Burgdorff
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot entirely in Connecticut with a crew of roughly six people; the 'shining woods' are mostly Burgdorff's actual neighbors' properties.
The film deliberately withholds backstory—Gary's wife, John's trauma, Cal's mother—to force viewers into the same confused intimacy the characters share.
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