# Sparks (2026 film)
*Sparks* is a 2026 American coming-of-age fantasy drama directed and written by Fergus Campbell, in his feature debut, about a group of small-town Nevada teenagers who believe a local reservoir holds a time-travel portal.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) • [2](https://www.sxsw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Press-Release-SXSW-2026-2nd-Wave-Film-TV-Programming.pdf) [Elsie Fisher](https://www.edgepedia.org/elsie-fisher) stars as Cleo, a newcomer to the town of Sparks who is determined to reach 1960s Paris and act in a film by [Jean-Luc Godard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-luc-godard).[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) The film premiered at SXSW 2026 and later screened at Frameline50, the Melbourne International Film Festival, and the Nashville Film Festival.[2](https://www.sxsw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Press-Release-SXSW-2026-2nd-Wave-Film-TV-Programming.pdf) • [4](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline50/sparks) • [5](https://miff.com.au/program/film/sparks)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Fergus Campbell, his debut feature; producer Lola Lafia[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) |
| Premise | Teens in Sparks, Nevada believe a nearby reservoir is a time portal; Cleo wants to reach Paris, 1960[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) |
| Lead cast | Elsie Fisher (Cleo), Charlie B. Foster (Antoine), Madison Hu (Odette), Denny McAuliffe (Max)[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) |
| Premiere | World premiere at SXSW 2026; US release March 12, 2026[2](https://www.sxsw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Press-Release-SXSW-2026-2nd-Wave-Film-TV-Programming.pdf) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) |
| Runtime | Reported as 76 minutes by festival and distributor listings, and 78 minutes by IMDb and MIFF[4](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline50/sparks) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) |
| Production | Build Week Productions; filmed on location in Gerlach, Nevada[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) |
| Reception | 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 10 reviews; 4.9/10 on IMDb from 29 votes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Cleo is new to [Sparks, Nevada](https://www.edgepedia.org/sparks-nevada) when she discovers a cigarette vending machine that inexplicably produces a book on the films of Jean-Luc Godard, and she quickly becomes a cinephile.[6](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a) She falls in with the Crop, a group of local teenagers who hang out at an abandoned drive-in they squat at and take monthly treks to a nearby reservoir that, by local legend, contains a time-travel portal.[4](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline50/sparks) Destinations the group imagines include New York in 1949, Florida in 1969, Berlin in 2000, and, for Cleo, Paris in 1960, the birthplace of the [French New Wave](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-new-wave), where she hopes to act in a Godard film.[5](https://miff.com.au/program/film/sparks) • [7](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways)
Crop leader Antoine ([Charlie B. Foster](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-b-foster)) is drawn to Cleo but rankled by her suggestion that Crop life is boring.[6](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a) When Cleo disappears at the reservoir, Antoine questions his own sense of purpose before unexpected adventures follow, including a shootout and what one festival synopsis calls a dreamy gay barbecue; when Cleo returns, the Crop must work out where she has been and whether she has lost her mind.[6](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a) The film's central tension, as one MIFF critic described it, is whether to pursue a new life elsewhere alone or stay together in a dead-end town.[7](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways)
## Production and release
The film is a United States production from Build Week Productions, produced by Lola Lafia with Dominique Bravo as executive producer.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) • [6](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a) It was filmed on location in Gerlach, Nevada.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/) The crew includes cinematographer Keldon Duane-McGlashan, editor Lygia Brubeck, production designer Natasha Parbhu, and composer Jane Paknia.[6](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a)
*Sparks* had its world premiere at SXSW 2026, with the festival's program describing the reservoir legend as the tease that keeps life exciting for the Crop until Cleo moves to town.[2](https://www.sxsw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Press-Release-SXSW-2026-2nd-Wave-Film-TV-Programming.pdf) It screened at Frameline50 in San Francisco as a West Coast premiere, at the Melbourne International Film Festival as an Australian premiere in August 2026, and at the Nashville Film Festival from September 28, 2026.[4](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline50/sparks) • [5](https://miff.com.au/program/film/sparks) • [6](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a) Strand Releasing handles distribution, listing the film as Not Rated, in DCP/Color, and in English with English subtitles.[8](https://strandreleasing.com/films/sparks/) IMDb lists a United States release date of March 12, 2026, and one award win.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/)
## Style and influences
Festival notes describe the film as guided by Godard and styled like [Gregg Araki](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregg-araki), recalling the early films of [Richard Linklater](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-linklater), Araki, and [Wes Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/wes-anderson).[4](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline50/sparks) • [5](https://miff.com.au/program/film/sparks) Following Cleo's influence, the film adopts formal trappings of the French New Wave, using natural light, self-conscious framing, and jump cuts, overlaid with hand-drawn animations and intercut with diegetic camcorder footage.[7](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways) Godard's influence extends to visual motifs such as long drags on skinny cigarettes and tracking shots along streets.[7](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways)
The film has been described as a queer coming-of-age movie.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) Critics noted its portrayal of queerness without frills, both within the Crop and among a group of older, free-spirited gay men the youths encounter at the reservoir, interactions one MIFF reviewer compared to the early work of Araki.[7](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 90% Tomatometer based on 10 reviews, with no audience ratings recorded at the time of the listing.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) Jourdain Searles of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Campbell "has made something very special" and hoped the film would be seen by every teenager who needs it.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) Hoai-Tran Bui of Inverse called it a charming and whimsical queer coming-of-age movie, and Gerald Peary of Arts Fuse described it as a sparkling no-budget regionalist drama.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026) On IMDb the film carries a 4.9/10 rating from 29 votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/)
Reviewers also recorded criticisms. The FilmSnobReviews review graded the film C+, praising its visual language and Fisher's performance while calling pacing the clearest sign of Campbell's inexperience as a first-time director.[9](https://www.filmsnobreviews.com/2026/04/review-sparks-2026-sxsw-film-festival/) MIFF Critics Campus reviewers found the supporting Crop members underdeveloped relative to Cleo and Antoine, and one judged the film's many cinematic references burdensome to its narrative.[7](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways)
## Distinction from other films
*Sparks* (2026) shares its title with an earlier independent superhero film, *Sparks*, directed by Todd Burrows and Christopher Folino from Christopher Folino's graphic novel series, starring Chase Williamson, Ashley Bell, Clancy Brown, and [William Katt](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-katt).[10](https://www.laemmle.com/film/sparks) It is also distinct from *Spark*, a 2026 Kannada-language crime thriller starring Niranjan Sudhindra.[11](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/bengaluru/spark/et00513356)
## References
1. [Sparks (2026), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2026)
2. [SXSW 2026 Second Wave Film & TV Programming press release](https://www.sxsw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Press-Release-SXSW-2026-2nd-Wave-Film-TV-Programming.pdf)
3. [Sparks (2026), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36136694/)
4. [Sparks, Frameline50](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline50/sparks)
5. [Sparks, MIFF 2026](https://miff.com.au/program/film/sparks)
6. [Sparks, 2026 Nashville Film Festival](https://watch.eventive.org/nashfilmfest2026/play/6aa8823529b0ecf0c5dcc96a)
7. [Sparks – Four Ways, MIFF 2026 Critics Campus](https://miff.com.au/blog/9599/sparks-four-ways)
8. [Sparks, Strand Releasing](https://strandreleasing.com/films/sparks/)
9. [Review: Sparks (2026 SXSW Film Festival), FilmSnobReviews](https://www.filmsnobreviews.com/2026/04/review-sparks-2026-sxsw-film-festival/)
10. [Sparks, Laemmle.com](https://www.laemmle.com/film/sparks)
11. [Spark (2026), BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/bengaluru/spark/et00513356)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2026 › Romantic and coming-of-age dramas*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license