Josephine, directed and written by Beth de Araújo, is about an 8-year-old girl who grapples with matters beyond her understanding. It’s Sundance debut at the Eccles Theater in Park City.
Josephine, an 8-year-old girl who witnesses something no child should see when running through Golden Gate Park with her father (Channing Tatum), a sexual assault between two strangers, and her ensuing struggle to make sense of a crime she can’t begin to comprehend. The story is based on channeling traumatic experiences from her youth, writer-director Beth de Araújo.
The film stars Mason Reeves as Josephine, alongside Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan as her parents, with a supporting cast that includes Philip Ettinger as Greg, Syra McCarthy as Sandra, Eleanore Pienta as Kerry, Dana Millican as Miss Hoffman, Michael Angelo Covino as Francisco Castellanos, Stefanie Estes as Mrs. Volk, and Michael X. Sommers as Mr. Larson
The movie is slated for an international premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2026.
Beth de Araújo’s debut feature, Soft & Quiet, emerged as a breakout project in 2022. The story follows Emily, an elementary school teacher who secretly leads a white supremacist women’s group called “Daughters for Aryan Unity.” What begins as a casual meeting with wine and conversation quickly reveals the group’s deeply rooted racism. After leaving Emily’s home, the women get into a confrontation at a grocery store with two Asian American sisters, Anne and Lily. The encounter escalates into a terrifying series of events that leads to a home invasion, physical violence, and emotional trauma, exposing how everyday prejudice and resentment can rapidly turn into shocking acts of cruelty and hate.
The project was managed by several companies, including Vibrato, Kaplan Morrison, Kinematics, and Free Association, produced in collaboration with David Kaplan, Josh Peters, Marina Stabile, Crystine Zhang, and Tatum and Chan.