The SXSW Film Festival Audience Award Winner was “Fantasy Life” in the Narrative Feature Competition, that was Presented by Kickstarter, by Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Shear, and Producers: Charlie Alderman, Chris Dodds, Phil Keefe, Amanda Peet, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, and Sam Slater.
In this 1 and a half hour movie the All-Star cast of: Matthew Shear, Amanda Peet, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, Jessica Harper, Holland Taylor, Sheng Wang, and Sophie von Haselberg- did an amazing job of portraying New York- Jewish type of characters, in this very funny movie comedy, just like the legendary Director Woody Allen used to do!
The talented Matthew Shear does a great job of directing, writing, and acting in the lead role in this movie as Sam, who is stressing that he just lost his Paralegal job in the middle of a panic attack, during a session with his psychiatrist Fred (Judd Hirsch). So when Sam walks out of his session- Fred’s receptionist and wife: Helen: played by “SCTV” star: Andrea Martin, feels sorry for him, and since she was looking for a babysitter anyway, she then hires Sam for the job, even though he has no experience! The father David (Alessandro Nivola) really needs the help ASAP, in his small apartment for his 3 kids. David is a musician and is about to go on a world concert tour with his band, so the timing is perfect for Sam! In addition David’s marriage to Dianne- with a great acting performance by Amanda Peet is not going well, and neither is Dianne’s TV acting career, who also has a mental illness with severe depression, so they both actually start to bond together, despite all of their own problems. So then Sam is growing closer to Dianne, and then he gets invited to join the extended family gathering for the summer on Martha’s Vineyard, with Dianne, David, their kids, and both of their grandparents, and even Sam’s psychiatrist: Fred, and then that is when things really get crazy, and funny for all the viewers of this movie! So make sure that you get a chance to see this movie! You can see in the below photo-Left to Right: Alessandro Nivola, Amanda Peet, and Matthew Shear at the movie premiere of Fantasy Life at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival: 
News Story by our Entertainment Today TV News Reporters: Nina Ameri and Jennifer Hutchins.
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