After spending years as a journalist at The New York Times, Walter Thompson-Hernández uses that eye for observation to craft “If I Go Will They Miss Me,” his feature directorial debut. The film unfolds with the patience of a documentary, letting its story of a father trying to reconnect with his 12-year-old son in Watts play out in long, still takes rather than forcing it into shape.
Grown out of a Sundance-winning short, the film premiered at Sundance 2026 to one of the festival’s most emotional receptions and stars Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson as parents both trying to break a cycle they didn’t choose. It opens in Los Angeles on September 11 before expanding to more than 30 markets a week later.
Ahead of the release, Brooks and Thompson-Hernández sat down with BLEX Media’s Dot Saint-Fleur to discuss the film’s improvisational approach, its use of Greek mythology to frame a broken father-son relationship, and what it means to extend grace to the complicated people in our lives.
“If I Go Will They Miss Me” opens in limited release in Los Angeles on September 11, 2026, before expanding to 30+ markets on September 18, 2026. Watch our interview below.
