There’s an inherent farce to the U.S. government, or so Hailey Gates suggests in her debut feature film, Atropia. Based on her 2019 short film Shako Mako, Gates expands her exploration of fake towns established by the American military for training purposes and the actors cast as townspeople — and potential terrorists — in those training scenarios.

Photos from the Sundance Film Festival 2025, the premieres of 'Atropia' & 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' on Day 3.

Hailey Gates turned her Miu Miu "Women's Tales" short film into a Sundance feature, starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner.

Nicole Beharie and André Holland appear in Love, Brooklyn by Rachael Abigail Holder, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city.

Channing Tatum's surprise cameo in Hailey Gates' directorial debut, 'Atropia,' is making waves at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

In writer-director Hailey Gates' directorial debut 'Atropia', she dives into the Bush-era culture of toxic masculinity, nationalism and Islamophobia.

You could see them from the freeway,” Gates told Variety on the eve of the ... She described it as a kind of gonzo film school. “I’ve always used it to get on other director’s sets.

Here are the films mentioned most often by buyers and sellers setting up shop at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The action begins Thursday. ATROPIA – Director: Hailey Gates. Cast: Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner,

The fest kicks off this week with movies featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Ayo Edebiri, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

PARK CITY, Utah — The Sundance Film Festival catalogue ... Luca Guadagnino produced the film, written and directed by Hailey Gates. It also stars Callum Turner and Chloë Sevigny.

Sundance project: Gates is the writer and director of “Atropia,” starring Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Chloë Sevigny and Tim Heidecker. The movie, which is produced by Luca Guadagnino, is a feature adaptation of Gates’ 2019 short film “Shako Mako ...

Naturally, The Verge is going to be taking in as much of Sundance as we can and posting bite-sized reviews of everything we see. We’ll also be posting longer reviews and sharing trailers, and you can follow along here to keep up with all of the news out of the festival.