Josephine: Sundance Winner Positions Channing Tatum for Awards
Beth de Araújo’s Josephine took both the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic and the Audience Award Dramatic at Sundance, an achievement last pulled off by Minari and CODA. Loosely based on an event from de Araújo’s childhood, the film follows eight-year-old Josephine (Mason Reeves), who witnesses the rape of a woman, Sandra (Syra McCarthy), in Golden Gate Park.
Damien (Channing Tatum) chases the assailant, Greg (Philip Ettinger), away and alerts authorities, but Josephine remains the only witness who can testify. The story examines the fallout as Damien and his wife Claire (Gemma Chan) struggle to explain what happened and decide how much to tell their daughter.
De Araújo inserts Greg into the backgrounds of scenes to show how memories linger, and the opening assault is graphic and may be intense for some viewers. Josephine’s confusion and her parents’ competing instincts—to preserve innocence or to teach self-protection—drive the film’s sober focus.