Skip to main content
Our Hero, Balthazar film image; upset man pressing his hands to his head

Our Hero, Balthazar

This event has passed

Balthazar (Jaeden Martell) attends a private school in New York, where he spends his nights performatively condemning gun violence in front of a ring light, mostly in the hopes of impressing his crush. But when Balthazar receives a series of alarming messages from an online troll who may be planning a school shooting themselves, Balthazar travels to Texas to confront the commenter. Here he meets Solomon (an almost unrecognizable Asa Butterfield), a troubled young man fired from his job, in debt to a multi-level marketing scheme, and in possession of a small arsenal of weapons.

An incendiary dark comedy from director Oscar Boyson, who makes use of his experience producing for the Safdie brothers by ratcheting up the tension and diving deep into the twisted psyche of a mind poisoned by the internet. Martell and Butterfield deliver breakout performances as two disaffected youths on divergent paths. As the boys’ destination becomes clearer, so too do questions about power, socioeconomic status, and who gets to tell their story.

 

Supported by

ZAK logo

Media Partner

Director
Cast

Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Noah Centineo, Jennifer Ehle, Becky Ann Baker, Chris Bauer

Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

2025

Language

English

Film Contact
Links
18+

At International Village

19+

At The Rio

91 min
Action Comedy Documentary
Oh Boy Productions, Spacemaker, Curious Gremlin, Arkhum, Bureau Unknown, Giant Leap

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Noah Centineo, Enzo Marc, Halsey, Anthony Li, Scott Aharoni, Sinan Eczacibasi, Alihan Yalcindag, Riccardo Maddalosso, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Alex Black, Nathan Wing, Grace Zander, Del Eswar, DJ Jiang, Nicholas Erickson, Anna-nora Berstein, Zak Williams, Christian Sosa, Peter Gold, Blaine Kern III, Pir Granof

Producer

Oscar Boyson, Ricky Camilleri, Jon Wroblewski, David Duque-Estrada, Alex Hughes, Jaeden Martell, Miles Skinner

Screenwriter

Ricky Camilleri, Oscar Boyson

Cinematography

Christopher Messina

Editor

Nate DeYoung, Erin DeWitt

Original Music

James William Blades

Oscar Boyson headshot

Oscar Boyson

Oscar Boyson was born and raised in Maine and lives and works in New York City. His producing credits include Frances Ha (2012) and Mistress America (2015) for Noah Baumbach; Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019) for Josh and Benny Safdie; and the original series Chillin Island (2021) for HBO. Boyson’s directorial credits include the short film Power Signal (2023), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, and dozens of music videos, commercials, and short films.

Filmography: Power Signal (2023)

 

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Schindler's List

Dir. Steven Spielberg
195 min

One of the most acclaimed films of the 90s, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark is the story of a German industrialist whose conscience is stirred to save his Jewish workers from the camps.

Free event.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Whispers in the Woods

Dir. Vincent Munier
94 min

A luxuriant, healing immersion in nature with ravishing wildlife photography, this is the cinematic equivalent of "forest bathing," a trip deep into the Vosges, France, with photographer Vincent Munier (The Velvet Queen), his father and his son.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Serial Mom

Dir. John Waters
95 min

John Waters' killer comedy features an uproariously funny, marvellously malicious performance from Kathleen Turner as a housewife with impeccable manners and very handy with a kitchen knife.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Three Colours: Blue

Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
98 min

The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Last Seduction

Dir. John Dahl
96 min

In this sexy neo-noir thriller, Linda Fiorentino has a blast playing one of the most amoral women in film history -- and one of the most exciting.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Three Colours: White

Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
91 min

Divorced by his beautiful French wife, Karol returns to his native Poland and schemes to win back his self-respect in Kieslowski's spry black comedy.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema