Roleplay

About the Film

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Faced with rampant sexual violence on their college campus, a group of college students spend a year creating an immersive play from their real-life experiences. The film follows this process with a lyrical lens, blurring the lines between reality and performance, moving between verite of campus life and the confessional vulnerability of the rehearsal room. Posing urgent questions about the toxic legacies imparted on the next generation, ROLEPLAY explores the roles we play as we grow into who we are: how they hurt us, heal us, and shape who we become.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

"One of the best docs I’ve seen so far this year is Katie Mathews’ “Roleplay,” a film that truly surprised me because it does what so few films like this are willing to do: It lets its subjects be messy, unpredictable, and human. ... Mathews has a deceptively subtle voice as a director, providing a supportive platform more than insisting on cinematic results. It leads to a film that’s all the more powerful by virtue of feeling so very real."  – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“The Tulane University students created and performed an incredibly groundbreaking theatrical production. Roleplay the film gives us a backstage pass…It changed me. Access to these brilliant young minds and what they’ve accomplished got to me on a cellular level.’ – Ashley Smith, The Best Films of South by Southwest 2024, FLAGPOLE

“The film needs to be standard viewing at every university. The issues are discussed and confronted by the students themselves and in their own words and voices which brings unmistakable sincerity to the message.” Chris Hernandez, Film Speak

"In the vein of Robert Greene’s [Netflix Documentary] Procession...the film is a behind-the-scenes look into the process of confronting these delicate memories and inhabiting the skins of the worst players on the everyday stage. Most importantly, it is about overcoming the difficulty of sharing these tales and finding the ears willing to listen." – Rotten Tomatoes Curtain Raiser, 22 Films We Can't Wait to Watch at SXSW

"A Must-See Film" – Stephanie Malone, MORBIDLY BEAUTIFUL


“It’s [Mathews'] lyrical way of weaving these two worlds that makes Roleplay a standout among other films documenting assaults on campus [...] Watching these young minds confront their traumas through art by performing characters that mimic what happened to them, shows the resilience of young adults and how finding an outlet can heal. It’s both heartbreaking and uplifting.” – Amanda Gilmore, MR. WILL WONG



"Timely and important... It is a film that is going to rattle cages." – Steve Kopian, Unseen Films