With their second film, Shatara Michelle Ford (Test Pattern) puts their singular stamp on the American road movie. Dreams in Nightmares, which stars Denée Benton (The Gilded Age) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets, Scream 7) follows a group of queer friends in their mid-30s navigating love, identity, and belonging across America. Anchored in themes of chosen family and self-discovery, the film blends humor and emotional depth against the backdrop of a journey through the Midwest and beyond. Dreams in Nightmares is an expansive and tender ode to the chosen family and to the radical act of claiming space to dream—and to exist—in an increasingly fraught country.

"A new spin on the American road trip movie, one that functions both as an intimate exploration of identity and a rallying cry for a new kind of world." — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

"With Dreams in Nightmares, Ford extends an exciting invitation: Get lost in my vision, open your imagination. The chemistry among the performers makes it an easy one to accept." — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

"An essential new voice in Black cinema." — Jourdain Searles, The Film Stage