The logline for Sinner Supper Club gives a rough idea for the movie. It’s “an improvised gay mumblecore ghost story shot on an iPhone in six days,” and I think that prepares audiences for exactly what they’re getting themselves into. Think I Love LA (2025), the new Rachel Sennott HBO show, but if the entire thing was the cast improvising and riffing, just honing their craft, before any of them became famous. That’s the overall tone, vibe, and execution of Nora Kaye and Daisy Rosato’s directing and writing in the experimental and avant garde film having its world premiere in the Visions section of SXSW Film & TV Festival 2026.
L-R: Elise Kibler as Alice and Ashil Lee as Ash in SINNER SUPPER CLUB. Photo courtesy of Obscured Pictures.
The film focuses on Nora (Nora Kaye); Alice (Elsie Kibler), who brings her partner unceremoniously along for the ride whom not one person in this “friends group” can possibly remember her name; Jayae (Jayae Riley Jr); and Genevieve, a.k.a. G (Genevive Simon); who all get together for a “wake” as Geneveive is getting evicted, no longer able to afford NYC. There is a ton of pressure on G to make this send off everything it needs to be to fix the groups problems. However, there is a historic heat wave in New York, and plenty of tensions simmering, so moving the “eviction funeral” out of the sunny park and into G’s apartment sends everything boiling over as the heat causes their realities to bend with the arrival of their friend, who’s dead, shows up, taking everything they hold dear on a turbulent turn that cannot possibly be resolved by G’s fathomed deadline. The question begs to be asked of whether the eviction funeral will solve all their issues or will the eviction itself be the proverbial nail in the coffin of their friendship.
There is a lot to admire about friends who are determined to get out there and make something. The world needs more people like Daisy Rosato (POSSUM) and Nora Kaye (The Cosmos Sisters) — creatives just being creative, letting their voices be heard. However, what they concocted with Sinner Supper Club is a hodgepodge of chaos, experimental testament, and the power of gathering their friends to make something. Would it have worked better with a script beyond a blueprint and a little more steadiness in terms of direction? Potentially, but there was some potential here that wasn’t fully fleshed out due to the nature of the film. It is admirable for a film, any film, from people just cutting their teeth to get someone behind it, have a premiere, and get eyes on it. That said, there were simply too many “what if”s and “maybe”s, and not enough conviction behind the story and direction to get the audience to be invested in the characters and keep them engaged in what was unfolding throughout the movie.
L-R: Jayae Riley Jr as Jayae and Genevieve Simon as G in SINNER SUPPER CLUB. Photo courtesy of Obscured Pictures.
The cast, which consists of Daisy and Nora’s friends, and themselves, all do their best to bring the vision to life. Some are certainly better at improvising and creating tension and hilarity than others, but, overall, their performances are muddled, showing some of the issues with experimental films. Without having more than a few bullet points of what they wanted to hit and just running with the flow, the movie feels more like a setup for a sketch at Second City that needs a few more rounds of rehearsal before hitting the main stage than a fleshed-out film.
Screening during SXSW Film & TV Festival 2026.
For more information, head either to the official Sinner Supper Club SXSW Film & TV Festival webpage or film website.
Final Score: 1.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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