Sour Minnows

This surrealist stoner noir follows two LA roommates whose reality starts slipping after they witness a shocking scene of pavement worship one sunny afternoon.

Walking home from grocery shopping one afternoon, roommates Ricky and Tepper stumble across a disturbing scene: six grown men lying on the ground, feverishly licking the pavement. From that moment on, everything changes for Ricky, Tepper and even Aura, the girl Ricky is newly dating. Time slips, space bends, reality morphs and little slimy minnows start to appear in Ricky’s pockets. The deeper Ricky investigates, the more he starts to believe that the three of them may be under the control of a mysterious entity known as “The Yellow Thing”.

A stoner hangout movie with Lynchian stylings and an experimental spirit, Sour Minnows comes straight to MIFF following its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, where it screened in competition. Directed, written, edited and shot by Harrison Atkins – who also edited Emily the Criminal (MIFF 2022) and Madeline’s Madeline (MIFF 2018) this film is his second feature after 2015’s Lace Crater, on which MIFF 2026 Bright Horizons juror Joe Swanberg served as a producer. Equal parts goofily funny and chillingly existential, this quintessentially LA trip is capably led by David Brown (Jury Duty), Chase Williamson (John Dies at the End, MIFF 2013) and Suzanna Son (Red Rocket).

Content: Melbourne International Film Festival