It isn’t the greatest satire ever made, but Gates’ feature is like a one-stop shop for mockery and education with some fun in between.

Like many of the independent films that premiered at this muted edition of Sundance, “Atropia” has not yet sold to a distributor.

Sundance: Directed by "Challengers" actress Hailey Gates, "Atropia" gives the War on Terror it's own take on "The Truman Show."

"Atropia," a satire of the Iraq War and military contractors' efforts to prepare soldiers to fight overseas, was one of the big winners at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival's awards ceremony.

An aspiring actress in an army role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier in Hailey Gates' feature debut, which also stars Callum Turner and Chloë Sevigny.

In writer-director Hailey Gates' directorial debut 'Atropia', she dives into the Bush-era culture of toxic masculinity, nationalism and Islamophobia.

Set in a fake town, Hailey Gates’ feature debut 'Atropia,' premiering at Sundance, has fun, insightful ideas, though it seldom expands on them.

Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.

Awards for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival were handed out on Friday morning, with the Dylan O'Brien-fronted dark comedy "Twinless" taking home the audience award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category.

Callum Turner desperately wants to be bleeped, and Alia Shawkat's mother feared she couldn't act. Hailey Gates' new film pops.

Jon Hamm has done plenty of voice acting over his career, but voicing 1950s FBI agent-turned-private investigator Jack Bergin has proven unique.

Hailey Gates turned her Miu Miu "Women's Tales" short film into a Sundance feature, starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner.