‘Rounding’ Trailer: Sidney Flanigan Might Be Possessed in Alex Thompson’s Psychological Thriller

“Ghostlight” and “Saint Frances” writer/director Alex Thompson is back onscreen with another festival hit: “Rounding.”

Thompson’s latest psychological thriller stars “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” breakout Sidney Flanigan as an asthma patient who starts to experience mysterious symptoms. Her stay at the hospital intersects with the arrival of young medical student James Hayman (Namir Smallwood), who previously endured a traumatic incident during his residency before transferring to a rural hospital for a fresh start.

Per the official synopsis, “the demons of James’ past begin to catch up with him when he becomes consumed by the case, and his grip on reality starts to slip as his disturbing nightmares, anxiety-fueled speculations, and physical injuries collide with the harsh realities of the world of medicine.”

Michael Potts and Rebecca Spence also star.

“Rounding” premiered at Tribeca 2022, and went on to screen at Rooftop and the Chicago International Film Festival. The film is a precursor to Thompson’s 2024 feature “Ghostlight,” which was co-directed by Thompson’s writing partner Kelly O’Sullivan. The film debuted at Sundance before being acquired by IFC Films.

“We didn’t know that it was going to work, [especially because of] the way our budgets are only possible through generosity,” Thompson told IndieWire of making the acclaimed indie. “On ‘Ghostlight,’ our costume budget was zero, essentially, and so everybody had to bring their own stuff. And then, all those costumes [for the play] were donated from theaters, so many of the props are from theaters. It felt like a great, big hug. It felt like being in a community theater show. It really feels like when you’re a kid and you’re waiting for the summer so you can go play with your friends, and [you’re thinking,] what’s the movie going to be this summer? What story is someone going to think up?”

Director Thompson and writer O’Sullivan’s 2019 SXSW winner “Saint Frances” was also previously nominated for three Gotham Awards and the Indie Spirits’ John Cassavetes Award. Oscilloscope virtually distributed the feature amid the pandemic.

Thompson solo wrote and directed “Rounding.” He will next direct “Mouse,” which was written by O’Sullivan.

“We had set up to do ‘Mouse’ in a very traditional Hollywood way with packaging and development and all this stuff, and then we got inspired by the ‘Ghostlight’ of it all,” Thompson told IndieWire. “Essentially, we’re doing the ‘Ghostlight’ model; we’re just feeding it steroids and corn and seeing how big it can get.”

“Rounding” premieres February 14 in theaters from Doppelgänger Releasing, the genre banner at Music Box Films.