By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Sophie Hyde
Starring: Aud Mason-Hyde | Daniel Henshall | Eamon Farren | John Lithgow | Olivia Colman
Year: 2026
Running time: 123
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23745668/reference/
Michael says: “My brief Letterboxd review states: “Highly personal intergenerational queer story that is intimate and moving. Some really nice touches.” That pretty much sums it up, but I’ll go a little further here. First, I hadn’t realized going in that director Sophie Hyde had also done GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE, which opened PIFF 2023 and which I enjoyed quite a bit. Like LEO, JIMPA had something major going for it — a lead performance that really worked well. Emma Thompson had the honors in LEO GRANDE, and here in JIMPA, it was the fantastic Olivia Colman, who is perhaps a bit of a stand in for Hyde herself. JIMPA, as I mentioned, is a highly personal story about an Australian filmmaker, Hannah, whose father (well-played by John Litghow) and mother eventually split after he came out as gay and moved to Amsterdam. While researching her next film, Hannah travels to Amsterdam with her husband (Daniel Henshall) and their non-binary child, Frances, played by Hyde’s actual child, Aud Mason-Hyde. Frances has declared to their parents that they plan on staying in Amsterdam to live with their grandfather, Jimpa.
“Based largely on Hyde’s own family history, the filmmaker does a great job examining the how growing up queer and the viewpoints developed have changed over three generations, with JIMPA coming of age in the 60’s, and Frances, coming to terms with her identity, sexuality, and politics in present day. Between them, Hannah tries to please everyone, and always compromises to the point of annoyance, which Colman portrays wonderfully to sometimes humorous and sometimes maddening affect.
“While the film could use some judicious editing, it’s filled with interesting, well-drawn characters, focuses on a family that struggles with familial issues but is not dealing with horrific trauma and holds some really strong acting. Definitely worth a view. 4 cats
“Screening Thursday, 6/12, Provincetown Town Hall, PIFF2025
“P.S. Hyde and Mason-Hyde attended the festival, did a great q&a and attended the PIFF Fundraiser, The Prom, dancing the night away! They were really lovely and personable.”