Mouse
Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson · 2026 · 120 minutes
FILM FEST KNOX announces that the opening night film for this year’s festival will be Mouse, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. A coming-of-age drama set in 2002 in O’Sullivan’s hometown of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Mouse was critically acclaimed following its premiere at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival.
It’s 2002, and best friends Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and Callie (Chloe Coleman) are heading into their senior year of high school, with Minnie long living in the protective shadow of the charismatic and admired Callie. When their friendship is suddenly upended at the start of the summer, Minnie struggles to define her own identity and forms a complicated relationship with Callie’s poised, attentive mother (Oscar nominee and Tony winner Sophie Okonedo), pulling her further from her own chaotic home. The ensemble also features David Hyde Pierce, Tara Mallen, and Iman Vellani.
Chicago-based filmmakers O’Sullivan and Thompson gained international notice with Saint Frances (2019), winner of the SXSW Audience Award, and Ghostlight (2024), a Sundance favorite that garnered multiple Independent Spirit nominations. O’Sullivan, who was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” grounds her work in the specific character of the regional locations where she works, making Mouse a kind of homecoming to the world that shaped her.
“Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson make exactly the kinds of films we’re advocating for here at FILM FEST KNOX,” says Artistic Director Darren Hughes. “They’re deeply curious about the everyday tragicomedy of life and somehow manage to avoid all of the familiar cliches and pat answers. From the moment I first saw it last February, I’ve been daydreaming of opening the fest with Mouse.”
Screen Daily called Mouse a “rich, emotionally satisfying and superbly acted bittersweet drama;” IndieWire judged it the duo’s best work to date; and Vulture called it “quietly revelatory.”
Kelly O’Sullivan will introduce Mouse and discuss it following the screening.
Program note coming soon.