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Erin Brown Thomas is speaking from the heart with “Chasers,” an official entry in Sundance 2025‘s Episodic Pilot competition premiering at the festival in Park City, Utah later this month. Watch the trailer debut above.
Co-written by the director and lead actress Ciarra Krohne (A24’s “Waves”), this 31-minute one-shot follows a girl named Sophia through a Los Angeles house party. Evocative of a poppier “Euphoria” with a more satirical feel, at least going by the first-look, what began as a short film expanded into a series after the screenwriters fell in love with their complex characters, all navigating near-kaleidoscopic emotion.
The pilot will also screen in February as part of Slamdance 2025 — making it the rare “double dance” in a circuit that previously prevented competition in both festivals. “Chasers” aims to deliver a vibrant and self-reflective thesis from the filmmaker on the cost of paying your dues in an industry relentlessly intent on taking more than its fair share from your soul and psyche. She says the dark storytelling universe is partly based on her history living amid hustle culture in LA, but it touches on several adjacent themes.
“It’s a story about the exploitation of hope, wrapped in dark humor,” Brown Thomas wrote in her personal statement to Sundance (although you can still watch her sharing news of the film‘s acceptance on social media.) “Sophia’s journey begins with a manipulation so subtle, she convinces herself that if she can make her abuser her boyfriend, it wasn’t date rape,” Brown Thomas wrote. “Her story might differ from mine, but it definitely hits home.”
She continued, “Entertainment, much like toxic relationships, loves to dress up exploitation as opportunity, asking us to blur our personal lines, chip away at our autonomy, and give up our vulnerabilities on a platter, all in the name of success. In the post-#MeToo era, ‘Chasers’ draws some uncomfortable parallels between sexual trauma and the sacrifices demanded by a career-driven culture.”
Working again with composers Dan Rufolo and Adam Kromelow — who scored Brown Thomas’ 2023 short film “[subtext]” — the director shot the entirety of pulsing “Chasers” inside her star performer’s house. The cast also features Keana Marie (“Guns Up”), Brooke Maroon (“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey”), Daniel Rashid (“Atlanta”), Xan Churchwell (“Beast Beast”), Shannon Gisela (a comedian with the Upright Citizens Brigade), and social media influencer Amber Khieralla who is making her film debut. Louis Chapman also stars.
Trailer editing by Joe Siebert. Behind-the-scenes photography by Leo Evidente III.
You can see “Chasers” at Sundance 2025:
The Ray Theatre, Park City — Premiere on January 28, 2025 4:15 p.m.
Redstone Cinemas, Park City — January 29 at 6:00 p.m.
Broadway Centre Cinemas, Park City — January 31 at 12:00 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinemas, Park City — February 1 at 4:30 p.m.
English (US) ·