Ponderosa
Rob Rice · 2026 · 90 minutes
When the buffet where Zeke’s mom works closes down, he’s forced to entertain the advances of a rich regular who is weirdly obsessed with becoming his dad.
Program note coming soon.
Rob Rice is a filmmaker from western Massachusetts, based in LA. He did an MFA at CalArts and, before changing careers, worked as a CRISPR engineer at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. His feature debut, Way Out Ahead of Us (FIDMarseille 2022), is distributed by Factory 25. His second feature, Ponderosa (Tribeca 2026), stars Jack Dylan Grazer, Alexis Bledel and Bill Camp. His recent work as a producer includes Tyler Taormina’s Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (Cannes 2024), Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait (Locarno 2023, co-producer, co-writer), and the debut feature from Advik Beni (FIDMarseille 2026).
Megan Pickrell, a producer based in NYC, earned acclaim with her first feature film, Family Portrait, dir. Lucy Kerr, which premiered at Locarno and received the Boccalino d’Oro prize for Best Director. Megan’s second feature as a producer, Ponderosa, dir. Rob Rice, premiered at Tribeca and stars Jack Dylan Grazer, Alexis Bledel and Bill Camp. She holds a certificate from Sundance Collab and an MFA from Penn State University, where she was honored with the Ty Burrell Scholarship. Megan is passionate about creating innovative and supportive environments for experimental filmmaking that pushes the boundaries of conventional storytelling.