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| Atropia | |
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_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hailey Gates |
| Written by | Hailey Gates |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Eric K. Yue |
| Edited by |
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| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Vertical |
Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $57,520[2][3] |
Atropia is a 2025 Americanwarsatire film written and directed byHailey Gates in her feature length debut, and produced byLuca Guadagnino. It starsAlia Shawkat,Callum Turner, Zahra Alzubaidi, Tony Shawkat,Jane Levy,Tim Heidecker,Lola Kirke, andChloë Sevigny. The film follows an aspiring actress working for a military role-playing facility, posing as a fictional country known asAtropia.[4][5]
Atropia had its world premiere at the2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, where it received mixed reviews from critics. Despite this, it won theGrand Jury Prize in the festival's U.S. Dramatic Competition. It was released byVertical on December 12, 2025.
Produced byFrenesy Film Company withLuca Guadagnino as producer, the film is directed byHailey Gates in her feature length debut that was shot in July 2023.[6] That year, the film had received Californian tax credits for production.[7] The film is based on Gates' 2019 short film,Shako Mako, which was produced as part ofMiu Miu'sWomen's Tales series of shorts directed by women and featuredAlia Shawkat.[8] That short followed an actress on the set of a replica foreign village onFort Irwin National Training Center, used by the American military to train soldiers prior to combat. The cast onAtropia again includes Shawkat, withCallum Turner andChloë Sevigny confirmed in the cast in February 2024.[9][10]Tim Heidecker was announced to be part of the cast in November 2024.[11] In January 2025, it was revealed thatChanning Tatum made acameo appearance in the film.[12]
Atropia premiered on January 25, 2025 at theSundance Film Festival, where it won theGrand Jury Prize. In October,Vertical acquired North American distribution rights to the film, giving it a theatrical release in the United States on December 12, 2025.[13][14]
Atropia had its New York City premiere at The Downtown Festival on October 10, 2025. The sold out screening was followed by a conversation betweenHailey Gates and filmmakerDouglas Keeve.[15]
It also competed in New Directors Competition at theSão Paulo International Film Festival and had screening on 18 October 2025.[16]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 42% of 50 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Atropia's satirical farce of a militarized industrial complex is buoyed by Alia Shawkat's committed performance to a point, but ultimately succumbs under the weight of its own pretense."[17]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Film Festival | February 2, 2025 | Grand Jury Prize Dramatic | Atropia | Won | [19] |
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by | Sundance Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic 2025 | Succeeded by |