Following a buzzy world premiere at SXSW 2024 and a string of festival wins, Anu Valia’s feature directorial debut We Strangers is set to hit theaters this August — and the newly released trailer promises a twisty, genre-defying ride led by Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Cruella, The Sandman).
The film centers on Rayelle Martin (Howell-Baptiste), a clever commercial cleaner from Gary, Indiana who lands an off-the-books job for one of her wealthy clients, played by Hari Dhillon. What begins as a side hustle quickly evolves into something far stranger — and far more dangerous — when Rayelle tells a small lie that changes the course of her life: she claims she can speak to the dead. That lie begins to flip the social power dynamics around her and thrusts her into a web of privilege, surveillance, and deception.
Set against the backdrop of Gary’s working-class reality and suburbia’s quiet affluence, We Strangers explores themes of assimilation, identity, and the cost of navigating spaces that were never built for you. With shades of Get Out and a dose of psychic surrealism, the film is being billed as a sharp character study wrapped in a tense psychological thriller.
The ensemble cast includes Sarah Goldberg (Barry), Maria Dizzia (The Staircase), Paul Adelstein (Private Practice), Tina Lifford (Queen Sugar), Kara Young (I’m A Virgo), and introduces Mischa Reddy as Sunny.
Valia, who has directed episodes of acclaimed shows like Shrill, The Afterparty, and Never Have I Ever, brings her TV polish to the big screen with a visual style that’s both grounded and unnerving. The film’s striking cinematography by Charlotte Hornsby (Inheritance) and editing by James Codyannis (Minor Premise) layer in tension with every frame.
We Strangers has already garnered major accolades on the festival circuit, winning the Grand Jury Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival, the New Hampshire Film Festival, and the Gary Black Film Festival, among others. It was spotlighted at the Provincetown International Film Festival and earned Valia a Breakthrough Award from the Athena Film Festival.
Backed by notable production companies including Wingate Media, Killjoy Films, and Irony Point, We Strangers is a project years in the making, supported by the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Institute, Women in Film, and others.
Quiver Distribution will release We Strangers in limited theaters on August 22, with a wider VOD release slated for September 9.
Watch the trailer for We Strangers above and get ready for a story that lingers long after the credits roll.