Dreams in Nightmares

Dreams in Nightmares
Directed by	Shatara Michelle Ford
Screenplay by	Shatara Michelle Ford
Produced by	Shatara Michelle Ford Pin-Chun Liu Naïma Abed Adam Wyatt Tate Josh Peters Robina Riccitiello Ben Stillman Ana Leocha Tyler Bagley Chris Quintos Cathcart
Starring	Denée Benton Mars Storm Rucker Dezi Bing Sasha Compère Charlie Barnett Molly Bernard Alfie Fuller Malek Mouzon Joss Barton Jasmin Savoy Brown Regina Taylor Robert Wisdom
Cinematography	Ludovica Isidori
Edited by	Cyndi Trissel
Music by	Lia Ouyang Rusli
Production companies	120E Films Spark Features Tango Entertainment Birchall Entertainment Each Other Films Track Eight Pictures Paradise City Verdant Peak Films
Distributed by	Lunette Films
Release dates	August 1, 2024 (2024-08-01) (BlackStar) August 21, 2026 (2026-08-21) (United States)
Running time	120 minutes
Countries	United States United Kingdom Taiwan
Language	English

Dreams in Nightmares is a 2024 internationally co-produced drama film, written, directed, and produced by Shatara Michelle Ford. It stars Denée Benton, Mars Storm Rucker, Dezi Bing, Sasha Compère, Charlie Barnett, Molly Bernard, Alfie Fuller, Malek Mouzon, Joss Barton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Regina Taylor and Robert Wisdom.

It had its world premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival on August 1, 2024.The film also premiered at Berlin International Film Festival and was a special presentation at British Film Institute. Other festivals include NewFest Film Festival, Frameline Film Festival, Tapei Film Festival and Champs-Élysées Film Festival.

Premise

Three friends road trip across the Midwestern United States in search of their friend who has disappeared off the grid.

With their sophomore feature, Shatara Michelle Ford (TEST PATTERN) puts their singular stamp on the American road movie. After an unceremonious layoff, Z (Denée Benton, “The Gilded Age”) embarks on a trip across the Midwestern United States in search of a friend that has seemingly disappeared off the grid. Travelling with her two closest friends, these three queer black femmes find their priorities tested as shapeshifting threats in each city expose (inter)personal and ideological fractures. Tender and expansive, Ford has created an ode to chosen family and the radical act of claiming space to dream – and exist – beyond the systems of an increasingly fraught country.

Cast

• Denée Benton as Z
• Mars Storm Rucker as Kel
• Dezi Bing as Lauren
• Sasha Compère as Tasha
• Charlie Barnett as Reece
• Molly Bernard as Jamie
• Alfie Fuller as Trish
• Malek Mouzon as Dionne
• Joss Barton as Toni
• Jasmin Savoy Brown as Sabrina
• Regina Taylor as Bernice
• Robert Wisdom as Virgil

Production

Principal photography took place in the Midwest.

DREAMS IN NIGHTMARES is a queer black-led, queer black-centered project produced by three women and femmes of color, with an emphasis on equity, community, and creative integrity. The film was made outside of a system that was not designed for projects like this to exist at this scale, and many of its production choices were unorthodox by necessity and by principle.

The production began as a 19-day shoot in late September. With a lean on-set crew of approximately 20 people each day, the team filmed across Eagleville and Kansas City, Missouri; Kellogg and Des Moines, Iowa; Allentown and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York; Los Angeles; and Oaxaca, Mexico.

The story itself travels through Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Iowa City, Kansas City, and Oaxaca. That world was brought to life through 23 locations, including real restaurants, family homes, and community spaces. More than 160 artists and craftspeople contributed to the film, and the production took time to get to know the faces and places across the Midwest and in Oaxaca, including Black American expats who have built homes and communities there. The film was a true community effort, and the people and places that welcomed the production are embedded into the very fabric of the film.

Production Community Guidelines

During the making of this film, these were the community guidelines that Shatara and the team shared to all cast and crew and encouraged to live by. The guidelines were distributed via email the first morning of each new city they traveled to:

This is a queer, black-led, POC-centered professional film set with an emphasis on equity, respect, and community care. Our community guidelines are as follows:

We will be pragmatic.

Indie film shoots are fragile, resource-strapped productions full of interconnected moving parts. What holds them together are the people who make them, and their willingness to adjust to the ever-changing, unpredictable conditions and circumstances.

We will make mistakes.

Because we’re human, and being human is so hard. Therefore, embracing the mistakes made by ourselves and others is the obvious way through! Grace and humility are key.

We will speak with care.

We all deserve to be engaged in a respectful manner. Having said that: It’s an indie film shoot. Pressure is on, tempers will flare, misunderstandings will occur. Grace and humility help here too.

We will seek to understand.

When confronted by a decision or interaction that doesn’t make sense, take the opportunity to enquire before assuming.

When making decisions that affect the group, we will center the most vulnerable around us.

Consider how your own social positionality relates to the group before deeming something safe, easy, or fun. Moreover, recognize when you sit in a privileged position in a given space or situation and ask how you can be supportive or useful?

Vulnerability is encouraged.

Know your own boundaries and limitations.

Honor the pronouns of your community! If you are unsure, always ask! If you make a mistake, it’s cool, because we’re human!

Let us know when you need help.

Release

It had its world premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival on August 1, 2024. It also screened at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2025. In May 2026, Lunette Films acquired distribution rights to the film, with plans for a summer release. The first trailer was released by IndieWire in June 2026, which also announced that the film would open theatrically in New York City on August 21, 2026, followed by Los Angeles on August 28, before expanding to additional U.S. markets in September.

Reception

The film has received positive reviews with Variety describing it as a "a step up from their debut Test Pattern. The canvas is bigger, the rhythm slower yet more confident". Richard Brody, writing in The New Yorker, described Ford's direction as giving "rise to performances of an extraordinary immediacy, a sense of commitment to the characters’ quests for sexual freedom, freedom from fear, a measure of financial stability that isn’t necessarily wealth but is the absence of panic". It has a 100% rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes indicating highly positive reviews.

External links

• Dreams in Nightmares at IMDb