THE SON Red Carpet Premieres

Screening to be followed by a conversation with Florian Zeller, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Ben Smithard and Iain Canning.

Florian Zeller follows up his previous feature THE FATHER (AFI FEST 2020) with an affecting spiritual sequel adapted from his own stage play. Peter (Hugh Jackman) has a fraught relationship with his teenage son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) following a messy divorce, a new partner (Vanessa Kirby) and a brand-new baby. Unhappy living with his mother (Laura Dern) and suffering from severe depression, Nicholas pleads to live with his father. His intrusion into Peter’s happy home is a calamity. Nicholas dodges school for months and struggles to accept his father’s apparent marital bliss which begins to rupture. The complicated family’s tense relationship comes to a head when Nicholas’ deep troubles drive him to act, forcing Peter to finally understand the seriousness of his son’s emotional crisis. With THE SON, Zeller crafts a vigilant, empathetic narrative that tackles the delicate nature of mental health and parenthood.