Sundance Winner 'Atropia' Satirizes US Military and Media

In November 2025, Hailey Gates' debut feature 'Atropia' is set to premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival, having won a surprise award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The film, which stars Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner, satirizes the US military, media, and movie business, veering from surreal to slapstick as it portrays a training facility preparing troops for deployment to unfamiliar countries and cultures.

Gates, whose background includes acting, modeling, and journalism, was initially trying to make a documentary about the military, but found the filming restrictions unworkable. She decided to take a 'M*A*S*H-style' approach instead, aiming to fill a "strange hole" in onscreen examination of the Iraq War, which she feels has been underserved compared to the Vietnam War.

Shooting the film in just 19 days on a California movie ranch, Gates drew inspiration from her research into US military training sites, which often use fictional country names like "Atropia" - a name derived from the Greek word for "atrophy," reflecting the military's efforts to keep its "muscle strong." Despite the tight schedule, Gates found the filmmaking process less hectic than her documentary work, drawing on her acting experience to shape her directorial approach.