Reminiscent of “The Truman Show,” “Atropia” is an immersive comedy showcasing the back of sets, control panels and 2000s-era ugly green screens. It’s full of veterans, military personnel, new soldiers ...

“Atropia” never takes real shots at any of its sinister realities; it attempts to merely coast off the premise and the charm of the cast.

Atropia, Hailey Gates’ scattered debut feature, is based on a city invented by the American military to train cadets. That the United States erects role-playing facilities tasked with ...

Based on her 2020 short “Shako Mako,” Hailey Gates writes and directs “Atropia,” a unique war satire about western views of the Middle East. While both its lampooning of U.S. militarism ...

Set in 2006, Atropia takes place at the titular U.S. military training ground in the California desert, where actors role-play as villagers in countries where the government plans to invade.

“Atropia” follows an aspiring actress at a military role-playing facility who falls for a soldier cast as an insurgent, their genuine emotions threatening to derail the performance. Shot at a ...

Shawkat plays a veteran performer in Atropia, which is nicknamed “The Box” by its cynical leadership and oversight officials. While her peers are jaded day players, Shawkat is always looking ...

Weaving absurdism and romance, “Atropia” interrogates the Western perspective of the Middle East. Directed by Hailey Gates, the war satire film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Home Film Festivals ‘Atropia’: How Callum Turner & Alia Shawkat Found A Soul Connection In Hailey Gates’ War Satire – Sundance Studio ...

The war satire “Atropia” about actors in a military role-playing facility won the grand jury prize in the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. dramatic competition, while the Dylan O’Brien movie ...

Photo: Staff Sgt. Brooks Fletcher/U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs The U.S. Army always knew defending Atropia would be a slog. But officers didn’t expect allies to abandon the authoritarian regime.