Everybody a Critic Presents: If I Go Will They Miss Me
Join Everybody a Critic for a special advance screening of If I Go Will They Miss Me, the feature debut of writer-director Walter Thompson-Hernández. This moving family drama stars Academy Award nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) and J. Alphonse Nicholson (P-Valley).
Following the screening, stay for a community discussion guided by Everybody a Critic. Together, we’ll explore the film’s themes, consider the ways mythology weaves into the Black experience, share favorite visual moments, and more.
See one of the year’s most striking independent films ahead of its theatrical release on September 18. Due to limited seating capacity, registration and early arrival are strongly encouraged.
This program was selected from Hamiltonian Artists open call, which invites artists, organizers, and cultural workers to present professional presentations in our U Street gallery space.
About the Film:
Set in the working-class Watts neighborhood in South Los Angeles, this moving family drama focuses on a fraught father-son relationship. Twelve-year-old Lil Ant (Bodhi Dell) struggles to connect with his father when he begins to see surreal, almost spectral visions of boys drifting around his neighborhood. Big Ant (Alphonse Nicholson) is just out of prison and struggling to reconcile with his wife, Lozita (Brooks), and Lil Ant, a sensitive artist yearning for a role model. Adapted from his acclaimed short, which won the Short Film Jury Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Thompson-Hernández audaciously combines social and magical realism, charting the emotional trajectory of a conflicted dad and his restless son.
If I Go Will They Miss Me debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, and recently won the award for Best Feature Film at the 2026 Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival.
About Everybody a Critic:
Everybody a Critic is a collective of four DMV-based movie lovers. Their mission is simple: talk movies, bring people back to the cinema, and highlight thoughtful cultural criticism.
Special thanks to Rich Spirit for providing the film and making this preview presentation possible.