Next Best Picture Podcast

"Blue Heron" is a 2025 drama film written and directed by Sophy Romvari in her directorial debut. Described as "semi-autobiographical," the film is based in part on Romvari's own childhood and her previous short film "Still Processing." The film stars Eylul Guven as Sasha, the eight-year-old daughter of a Hungarian immigrant family who relocate to Vancouver Island in the late 1990s, while their oldest son, Jeremy (Edik Beddoes), displays increasingly dangerous behavioral issues in their new environment. The cast also includes Ádám Tompa and Iringó Réti as Sasha's parents, Liam Serg and Preston Drabble as Sasha's brothers, and Amy Zimmer as Adult Sasha. The film had its world premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, receiving universal acclaim, winning the Swatch First Feature Award, and later the Best Canadian Discovery award at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Romvari was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to belo