Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 17 hours ago
At the 76th Berlinale, the directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson talk to FRED Film Radio about their new film MOUSE, screened in the PANORAMA section.
Interview by Chiara Nicoletti
Editing by Federica Scarpa
MOUSE
The summer of 2002, and the senior year of high school is on the horizon for best friends Minnie and Callie. As the golden child of their North Little Rock High School in Arkansas, Callie is the shining star of their school’s drama class. Minnie is her reliable shadow who would much prefer to be prompter than on stage herself. Growing up in Callie’s protective orbit means Minnie is a welcome guest at her friend’s upper-class home where Callie’s elegant mother, Helen, feeds them with delicious food and attention. This is in stark contrast to Minnie’s hard-scrabble life outside school where she lives in a cramped, cluttered apartment with her mother, Barbara, a vet who is unable to resist hard-luck cases. When Callie and Minnie’s friendship is suddenly upended, Minnie is left rudderless. Facing the challenge of establishing her own identity as the school year begins, she starts to pull away from Barbara and forms a complicated relationship with Helen.
At the 76th Berlinale, the directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson talk to FRED Film Radio about their new film MOUSE, screened in the PANORAMA section.
Interview by Chiara Nicoletti
Editing by Federica Scarpa
MOUSE
The summer of 2002, and the senior year of high school is on the horizon for best friends Minnie and Callie. As the golden child of their North Little Rock High School in Arkansas, Callie is the shining star of their school’s drama class. Minnie is her reliable shadow who would much prefer to be prompter than on stage herself. Growing up in Callie’s protective orbit means Minnie is a welcome guest at her friend’s upper-class home where Callie’s elegant mother, Helen, feeds them with delicious food and attention. This is in stark contrast to Minnie’s hard-scrabble life outside school where she lives in a cramped, cluttered apartment with her mother, Barbara, a vet who is unable to resist hard-luck cases. When Callie and Minnie’s friendship is suddenly upended, Minnie is left rudderless. Facing the challenge of establishing her own identity as the school year begins, she starts to pull away from Barbara and forms a complicated relationship with Helen.
