The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans (2022) is Steven Spielberg's drama, available to watch online on iFILM. It is his most personal film: the director put his own childhood on screen, hiding himself behind a made-up boy named Sammy Fabelman. The setting is Arizona in the years after the Second World War, where a teenager falls for movies the first time his parents take him to a theater.

Sammy starts shooting home movies on a wind-up camera and slowly learns that a lens catches more than people mean to show. While editing footage one day, he spots a family secret his parents had been keeping. Michelle Williams plays his pianist mother, Paul Dano his engineer father, Seth Rogen the family friend Uncle Bennie, and Gabriel LaBelle the high-school Sammy. Judd Hirsch turns up for one electric scene as a wild great-uncle from the circus world.

Spielberg co-wrote the script with playwright Tony Kushner, with longtime cinematographer Janusz Kaminski behind the lens. The result is a story about how loving the camera can both save you and cut you: filmmaking hands Sammy a voice and steals his peace. The picture earned seven Academy Award nominations. Stream The Fabelmans (2022) online on iFILM.