The Graduates

Genevieve (Mina Sundwall) is up against an unsettling senior year as she faces the one-year mark of a tragic school shooting that took her boyfriend. What should be a time of growth, anticipation, and pride is marred with trauma and loss that feels like purgatory rather than progress. As she gets closer to graduation, decisions seem impotent. That feeling is collectively shared by her friend Ben (Alex R. Hibbert) who transferred schools, her mother (Maria Dizzia) and the school basketball coach, heartbreakingly played by John Cho.

In her feature directorial debut, Hannah Peterson captures the somber and vulnerable feeling of a community coping with loss. Employing assured filmmaking , Peterson is able to sit in melancholy, discomfort, and senselessness while still maintaining hope. Executive produced by Chloé Zhao, the film ushers in new talent with a similar skill of capturing contemplation.––Nora Bernard