Sunday, Nov 16, 2025
Fantasy Life | Narrative Centerpiece
7:30 PM Film Screening
$10 Students with ID | $13 Seniors | $15 General Admission
Ambler Theater
Offsite
Directed by Matthew Shear
Narrative Feature/Comedy| USA | 2025 |91 min | English
An anxious ex-paralegal (director and writer Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters and falls for their similarly anxious mother (Amanda Peet), an out-of-work actress in a struggling marriage, in this awkward and authentically hilarious Jewish comedy featuring Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Sheng Wang.
Official Selection
SXSW Film & TV Festival, Audience Award and Special Jury Award winner
Philadelphia Film Festival
Boston Jewish Film Festival
“One of the most flagrantly, hilariously Jewish movies in recent memory.” – Austin Chronicle
“Shear has crafted a classic kind of family dynamic for this smart, dialogue-driven comedy.” – Deadline
Director’s Bio
Matthew Shear is a New York–based filmmaker and actor. He starred in Noah Baumbach’s Mistress America alongside Greta Gerwig and appeared in The Alienist with Dakota Fanning and Daniel Brühl. His screen credits also include The Meyerowitz Stories, Old, The Boy Downstairs, and Between the Temples. Fantasy Life, his debut feature as writer/director, premiered at SXSW 2025, winning the Narrative Feature Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Amanda Peet’s performance.
This event is presented by Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media. Please contact info@phillyjfm.org with any questions.