Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibilityRock Springs | 2026 Sundance Film Festival
Accessibility

Midnight

Rock Springs

sd_star_fav_icon
United States/Canada202696 minEnglish
Rock Springs

After the death of her father, a grieving young girl moves to an isolated house in a new town with her mother and grandmother, only to discover there is something monstrous hidden in the town’s history and the woods behind their new home.

+ More

After the death of her father, a grieving young girl moves to an isolated house in a new town with her mother and grandmother, only to discover there is something monstrous hidden in the town’s history and the woods behind their new home.

Writer-director Vera Miao’s ambitious, potent feature debut explores the legacy of generations of immigration and racism through a distinct and original genre lens. Spanning centuries, Miao draws from a real-life historical atrocity and Chinese beliefs about the nature of the afterlife to compose a singular portrait of inherited trauma and a stirring ode to the persistence and resilience of diasporic communities.

Kelly Marie Tran grounds the film with her portrayal of a mother’s desperate concern for her child, while Benedict Wong’s visceral performance brings the terror and tragedy of the past to the forefront with dreadful clarity. A sense of foreboding engulfs the film, as Heyjin Jun’s seamless cinematography amplifies the aura of suspense, suggesting the unhealed wounds of these characters and their world. As the goings turn increasingly supernatural, so too grows the specificity of Miao’s vision. — HZ

Available in person. Also available online for the public (January 29–February 1) and credentialed press and industry (January 28–February 1).

MidnightAll FeaturesBIPOC StoriesWomen-Centered StoriesDramaFictionHorrorClosed CaptionOpen CaptionU.S. Only- less

Screenings

in persononline
  • Jan 25, 11:55 PM MST
    Premiere

    Library Center Theatre

    Park City

  • Jan 26, 7:30 PM MST
    Screening

    Megaplex Redstone - 1

    Park City

    Open CaptionOpen Caption

  • Jan 28, 11:55 PM MST
    Screening

    The Ray Theatre

    Park City

  • Jan 31, 8:30 PM MST
    Screening

    Broadway Centre Cinemas - 3

    Salt Lake City

  • Feb 1, 9:30 PM MST
    Screening

    Megaplex Redstone - 4

    Park City

  • Jan 29, 3:00 PM GMT -
    Feb 2, 6:55 AM GMT
    Online Screening

Credits

  • Director(s)

    Vera Miao

  • Screenwriter

    Vera Miao

  • Produced by

    Stephen Feder

    Kiri Hart

    Charles D. King

    Poppy Hanks

    Greta Talia Fuentes

    Jason Michael Berman

    Matthew Lindner

    Jordan Moldo

    Vera Miao

  • Director of Photography

    Heyjin Jun

  • Production Designer

    Kathrin Eder

  • Edited By

    David Marks

  • Costume Designer

    Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh

  • Music by

    Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

  • Casting by

    Leslie Woo

    Judy Lee

  • Executive Producers

    James Lopez

    Mike Downing

    Christine Yi

    Brian Nemes

    Shawn Angelski

    Caroline Connor

    Kelly Marie Tran

    Benedict Wong

  • Principal Cast

    Kelly Marie Tran

    Benedict Wong

    Jimmy O. Yang

    Aria Kim

    Fiona Fu

Meet the Artist

Panelist Name

Vera Miao

    The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Vera Miao is a queer filmmaker whose early work in community organizing, along with her love of horror and sci-fi, shape her unique brand of propulsive, character-forward storytelling. She created The CW’s Two Sentence Horror Stories and was a writer and supervising producer on Amazon Prime Video’s Expats.

    You May Also Like

    Midnight
    sd_banner_img

    Saccharine

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.

    (1hr 52mins)
    Short Film Program
    sd_banner_img

    Birdie

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    In 1970, a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee in Virginia tries to keep her family together when a newcomer draws her sister away.

    (23min)
    Episodic
    sd_banner_img

    The Screener

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    An independent film screener leaks from a talent agency.

    (1hr 32mins)
    Episodic
    sd_banner_img

    Worried

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    No one is more worried about Jules and Poppy than Jules and Poppy.

    (33min)

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE

    Sponsor

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE