Christmas Eve in Miller's Point

Tyler Taormina and Eric Berger have been friends since middle school, and both grew up on Long Island, which is where they set 'Christmas Eve in Miller's Point'. Taormina's third feature, after 'Ham on Rye' and 'Happer's Comet', is an ensemble Christmas comedy drama with very little plot and a great deal of atmosphere, and it premiered in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes in May 2024.

It's Christmas Eve 2006, and the Balsanos, a huge Italian American family, have gathered as they do every year at the home of their ailing matriarch, Antonia. This could be the last time: one of her sons wants to sell the house and move her into a nursing home, and not all his siblings agree. In between the trays of food and the presents, Kathleen (Maria Dizzia) can't seem to get through to her teenage daughter, Emily (Matilda Fleming).

Once dinner's over, Emily and her cousin Michelle (Francesca Scorsese) slip out to meet their friends in the snowbound town, where two nearly silent cops, played by Michael Cera and Gregg Turkington, are stuck working the holiday. Sawyer Spielberg turns up among the local teenagers.

Cera also produced the film, which was shot in Smithtown, and the cinematographer is Carson Lund, Taormina's partner in the Omnes collective; Lund's own debut as a director, 'Eephus', played the Fortnight the same year. Much of the chatter at Cannes was about two surnames: Francesca is the daughter of Martin Scorsese, and Sawyer is the son of Steven Spielberg.

After Cannes it went to Valladolid, where it won the FIPRESCI critics' prize, and IFC Films released it in US cinemas on 8 November 2024, with the UK following a week later. Reviews were largely warm, though some critics felt all that mood was no substitute for a story. In Britain it's available to buy on Apple TV and Prime Video.

• Drama
• Comedy