Reality (12A)

On a Saturday afternoon in June 2017, 25-year-old Reality Winner is confronted at home by the FBI. A cryptic conversation begins, and Reality’s life quickly begins to unravel.

With all dialogue taken directly from the FBI’s transcript of the interrogation — alternately nail-biting and banal, darkly funny and surreal — we track one woman's experience of the US Government at work. As more details of Reality’s life are revealed and more armed men arrive, a complex portrait emerges of an American millennial, yoga teacher and veteran under siege.

In this enlightening snapshot of recent American history, Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus, The Handmaid’s Tale) stars in the incredible true story of a young woman who stirred up a media storm when she leaked a classified report to the press.

Please note that two of our captioned screenings on Friday 2 June (16.00) and Sunday 4 June (14.45) will be followed by a recorded Q&A with director Tina Satter.

Why we love it:

'In a mere 83 minutes, Tina Satter crafts a gripping near-real-time thriller with a uniquely oppressive tone, which reflects 'reality' in odd and compelling ways. The fact that all the dialogue is taken from an actual transcript gives the film a weird and uncanny quality, and the precise performances of the great cast accentuate this - the film bears out the idea that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.'

Paul Gallagher, Programme Manager