If movies that explore social media and insta-fame’s impact on society can be considered a rising sub-genre, consider it a new personal favorite. We just saw Not Okay excel with a story about a young woman desperate for followers who opts to flat-out lie about having lived through a bombing and now Sophia Kargman is making a big impression exploring similar themes through her feature directorial debut, Susie Searches.
Kiersey Clemons leads as the title character, Susie, the host of the crime-solving podcast, Susie Searches. Susie’s truly got a knack for investigating and criminal psychology, but in a world oversaturated with content, delivering good work doesn’t necessarily guarantee a big audience. While Susie tries to manage that frustration, she watches as classmate Jesse Wilcox's (Alex Wolff) online popularity soars by making meditation videos. When he suddenly goes missing, Susie sees an opportunity to use his fame to finally break through herself by launching her own investigation to track him down.
While celebrating Susie Searches’ world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, Kargman, Clemons, and Wolff all visited the Collider Supper Suite and Media Studio at Marbl to discuss their experience making the movie and to dig into some of the themes and ideas it explores.
Special thanks to our TIFF 2022 partners A-list Communications, Belvedere Vodka, Marbl Toronto, COVERGIRL Canada, Tres Amici Wines, Toronto Star, and Blue Moon Belgian White beer.
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