Utah filmmaker makes Sundance debut with family drama "Omaha"

Axios

29-01-2025

Utah-based director Cole Webley's journey to the big screen has come full circle after recently debuting his first-ever feature film at the Sundance Film Festival.
State of play: The drama, " Omaha," the only movie in this year's festival filmed in Utah, centers on a father who takes his children on an unexpected cross-country road trip following a family tragedy.
It stars John Magaro ("Past Lives"), Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis.
Zoom in: The self-funded flick, which explores fatherhood and masculinity norms, Webley told Axios, was shot mostly in Utah over 27 days.
For Webley, Utah played a larger role than just the backdrop.
"It was the workforce. It was the inspiration. We shot in places that I had shot in as a film student," said Webley, who attended Brigham Young University. "Its identity within this film is inseparable."
Between the lines: Utah director and writer Robert Machoian had written the film's script a decade earlier, when he showed it to Webley while working on another project together.
"This was the script that was really written for me to direct," Webley, who previously worked on hundreds of commercials and short films, said.
The intrigue: Webley joins a long list of directors who premiered their first movies at the long-running independent film festival, including Wes Anderson, Jordan Peele and Quentin Tarantino.
When asked if he plans to pursue directing another feature film, Webley responded: "Do bears s–t in the woods?"