In this report from Sundance for Letterboxd News, I chat to Honey Boy director Alma Har’el, and hear from the film’s star and screenwriter Shia LaBeouf, who based the screenplay on his own experiences as a child actor with an abusive father (played by LaBeouf in the film).

Park City, Utah: One of the most buzzed-about films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival is Honey Boy, an autobiographical drama written by and starring Shia LaBeouf and directed by Israeli filmmaker Alma Har’el. The film is her narrative debut following several documentaries, including Bombay Beach, which won the Jury prize at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.

Inspired by LaBeouf’s relationship with his alcoholic father, Honey Boy chronicles two periods in the life of an actor named Otis, played as a boy by Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) and as a young man by Lucas Hedges, beloved by Letterboxd fans for his work in Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird and so many more.