World Premiere
Selection 2023

What You Wish For

Directed by Nicholas Tomnay

Hosted by Director Nicholas Tomnay, Production Designer Diana Trujillo, Cast Randy Vasquez.

Credits  

Director

Nicholas Tomnay

Writer

Nicholas Tomnay

Cast

Penelope Mitchell, Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez

contact

The Film Collaborative

USA 2023 101 mins OV English Subtitles : English
Genre Thriller

Ryan (Nick Stahl) is a talented chef with crushing gambling problems. Circumstances being what they are, he leaves town in a hurry for the safe haven of an unnamed Latin American country where his friend Jack (Brian Groh), a more prestigious chef with his own unique troubles, welcomes him into his home. Ryan has no idea how Jack’s able to afford his extravagant lifestyle, and he doesn’t want to feel envious, but he knows that he wants it for himself. Soon, a grim twist of fate will give that to him. Ryan assumes his friend’s identity. And soon discovers just what Jack’s been doing to maintain the lifestyle he so desperately craved.

A Hitchcockian, edge-of-your-seat descent into escalating moral compromise with generous servings of dark humour, shock, and surprise, WHAT YOU WISH FOR is the gripping sophomore feature from writer/director/editor Nicholas Tomnay (THE PERFECT HOST). It’s a strikingly executed thriller, with a screenplay that will have you hanging on every word. Thematically evocative of WHITE LOTUS and THE MENU (though written in 2018 and shot in Colombia well before the releases of either), the film breaks conventions to take its audience down a uniquely mordant path. Partially informed by Tomnay’s anger at seeing the powerful making ecologically destructive choices, WHAT YOU WISH FOR is a morbid noir thriller that addresses greed with a piercing wit that couldn’t be timelier. Grounded by a career-best performance from Stahl, last on the Fantasia screen in the unforgettable WHAT JOSIAH SAW, the film co-stars Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, and Penelope Mitchell, with sumptuous cinematography by Mateo Guzmán and a tingly, wicked score from Jeff Russo and Tracie Turnbull. From the producers of THE FLORIDA PROJECT. – Mitch Davis