“MOTHER FUTURE SELF” // TRIBECA 2026
BY MATEO MORENO
MOTHER FUTURE SELF follows two old friends, Sofi (Imani Jade Powers) and Jordan (Betsey Brown) as they find out they have both signed up for an experimental dance camp in Maine without knowing the other would be there. See, these two old friends are more “former friends,” friends that have drifted apart for unknown reasons. Tensions and weirdness are immediately present as the two women make awkward small talk and realize they are going to be sharing this camp together and neither is really ready for that. Even worse, the dance instructor ends up putting the two of them together as a team, so they’re going to have to work together for the entirety of the camp. The two end up butting heads and tip toeing around what exactly happened between them. In fact, both women can’t seem to find the words, any words, to truly express how the distance between each other has made them feel. So, they work their frustrations and hurt though the dance projects. Through the choreography, the two women are able to emote what their words cannot and that eventually leads Jordan to start warming up to Sofi and vice versa. As the film quietly shows, rebuilding a fractured friendship is never easy and there are no quick fix solutions. Only time and understanding can lead that fracture to heal, and writer/director Tori Lancaster knows this well, playing off of loaded silences, small glances and the slight rebuilding one moment at a time.
Imani Jade Powers and Betsey Brown both turn in beautiful, nuanced performances here, showcasing the pain of heartbreak deftly. Their connection feels real and the chemistry together truly reads as two people who have known each other for a long time and are aching for a reconciliation. Lancaster directs the film with a quiet intensity, the feeling that something intense is brewing is always there, but she takes her time in each moment, letting the emotions layer and layer until it hits a boiling point. The lush scenery of the Maine surroundings adds to the beauty of the film, drawing you the audience into its picturesque views just as much as the characters are. The supporting cast also add nice layers of support, but this is really a film that’s Powers and Brown’s to take home, and they do. Their relationship, and their fracture, is messy and the two actresses handle it with delicate care, leaving a mark on you after the film ends. Much like their relationship, the ending is messy as well, but such is life. There are no easy ways to move on. You simply have to just do it.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Tori Lancaster STARRING Imani Jade Powers, Betsey Brown, Juliet Brett, Ben Groh SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: https://tribecafilm.com/films/mother-future-self-2026