Dead Parents Club (2026)

Dead Parents Club reimagines the documentary form by blending raw observational footage, avant-garde performance, and sharp cultural critique to upend Hollywood’s tired "orphan trope." While blockbusters like *The Lion King*, *Frozen*, and *Finding Nemo* routinely use parental death as a convenient shortcut to jumpstart a hero’s journey, the true experience of grief is far messier and more profound. This film tracks real people who have lost their parents as they collaborate on a one-of-a-kind theatrical project. Stepping into the shoes of legendary fictional orphans—Simba, Frodo, and others—the cast threads their own raw, personal trauma into the fabric of scripted scenes. What emerges is a performance that is tender, absurd, and surprisingly hilarious—a deep dive into identity and recovery. Shifting seamlessly between fantasy and reality, this documentary explores how we confront devastating loss, forge intimate human bonds, and ultimately discover how to become our own caregivers.