Sundance 2026: Newcomer Alyssa Marvin guides this beguiling, darkly comic high school feature with charm and precision
There was a time when Sundance offered up eccentric young misfits regularly — think Dawn Wiener of “Welcome to the Dollhouse” or Napoleon Dynamite. “Run Amok” hero Meg fits squarely in this tradition, so if you love the idea of a darkly comic high school musical, this one may have been made for you.
Newcomer Alyssa Marvin revisits her role from NB Mager’s 2023 short film of the same name. (A striking number of former shorts have arrived at the festival as full-length features this year.) You’ll know just what kind of movie we’re talking about when you learn that Meg, a friendless freshman who lives with her stern aunt (Molly Ringwald) and cooler cousin (Sophia Torres), drags her full-size harp back and forth to school every day. She speaks like an adult who was raised in the 1950s, dresses like a preteen in 1980 and grips her pencils with full-fist ferocity. She’s clearly brilliant and very obviously in pain.
Though the costumes, cars and home decor suggest a period film, the source of Meg’s sorrow indicates that this story is entirely contemporary.
