My Dead Friend Zoe
2024 film by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
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My Dead Friend Zoe is a 2024 American comedy-drama film written by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes and A. J. Bermudez, directed by Hausmann-Stokes and starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris.
- Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- A. J. Bermudez
- Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Cherish Chen
- Paul Scanlan
- Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Terri Lubaroff
- Ray Maiello
- Mike Field
- Richard Silverman
- Robert Paschall Jr.
| My Dead Friend Zoe | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kyle Hausmann-Stokes |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Matt Sakatani Roe |
| Edited by | Ali Greer |
| Music by | Dan Romer |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Briarcliff Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 102 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.3 million[2][3] |
It premiered at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024 (winning the Audience Award), and was theatrically released in the United States on February 28, 2025.
Premise
A U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran is at odds with her estranged Vietnam Veteran grandfather and her VA counselor. All thanks to the presence of her dead best friend from the Army.
Cast
- Sonequa Martin-Green as Merit
- Natalie Morales as Zoe
- Ed Harris as Dale
- Morgan Freeman as Dr. Cole
- Gloria Reuben as Kris
- Utkarsh Ambudkar as Alex
- Thom Tran as Rufus[4]
- Barbara Lusch as Conductor
Production
Kyle Hausmann-Stokes directed the film in his feature debut.[5] Written by Hausmann-Stokes, A. J. Bermudez and Cherish Chen, the story was inspired by Hausmann-Stokes' time serving five years in Iraq as a paratrooper and convoy commander. Hausmann-Stokes also wrote and directed the 2022 short film, Merit x Zoe.[5] According to Variety, the film is the first to be financed with green energy tax credits; Ray Maiello produced the film for Radiant Media Studios.[6] Radiant Media Studios brought Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to the project as an executive producer.[7] Legion M co-financed under their crowdfunding model.[8]
In May 2023, it was reported that Ed Harris, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Natalie Morales were cast in the film.[5] In June 2023, it was announced that Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, and Utkarsh Ambudkar joined the cast in main roles.[9] Filming occurred in Portland, Oregon, Forest Grove, Oregon and Molalla, Oregon in 2023.[10] In September 2023, it was announced that filming wrapped.[11] By January 2024, Dan Romer was composing the film's score.[12]
Release
My Dead Friend Zoe premiered at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024, where it won the Audience Award.[13] In June 2024, Briarcliff Entertainment acquired the film. On October 19, it won the Grand Jury prize for Best Feature Narrative at the Woodstock Film Festival.[14] It was theatrically released in the United States on February 28, 2025.[15]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 98 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Carrying off painful subject matter with a light touch, My Dead Friend Zoe invites audiences to a healing process that comes with both chuckles and tears."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]
Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood called the film "a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit."[18] Matt Donato of Collider praised Martin-Green's performance,[19] while Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com also commended Harris, describing him as "one of our best living actors" in the supporting cast.[20]
Variety ranked My Dead Friend Zoe as one of the 10 Best Films of 2025.[21]
