{{Short description|2025 film by Sophie Hyde}} {{Use Australian English|date=May 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox film | name = Jimpa | image = Jimpa poster.jpg | caption = Australian theatrical release poster | director = Sophie Hyde | writer = {{Plainlist| * Matthew Cormack * Sophie Hyde }} | producer = {{plainlist| * Liam Heyen * Marleen Slot * Sophie Hyde * Bryan Mason }} | starring = {{plainlist| * Olivia Colman * Aud Mason-Hyde * John Lithgow }} | cinematography = Matthew Chuang | editing = Bryan Mason | music = Nick Ward | studio = {{Plainlist| * Closer Films * Mad Ones Films * Viking Film }} | distributor = {{Plainlist| * Kismet Movies (Australia) * Cinéart (Netherlands) }} | released = {{Film date|2025|1|23|df=y|Sundance}} | runtime = 113 minutes<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 March 2026 |title=''Jimpa'' (15) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/jimpa-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmteznta4 |access-date=24 March 2026 |website=British Board of Film Classification |language=en}}</ref> | country = Australia<br>Finland<br>Netherlands | language = English | budget = | gross = $292,681 }} '''''Jimpa''''' is a 2025 drama film co-produced and directed by Sophie Hyde, who co-wrote it with Matthew Cormack. Based on Hyde's own family story after her father, Jim Hyde, came out to his wife as gay when they were married with young children, the film stars Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, and Aud Mason-Hyde.
''Jimpa'' had its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2025. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 5 February 2026 and was released in Australian cinemas on 19 February 2026.
==Synopsis== Hannah, along with her nonbinary teenager, Frances, travel to Amsterdam to visit her gay father Jim (known as Jimpa). When Frances wishes to stay with their grandfather for a year, Hannah is forced to re-examine her parenting and her past.<ref name=deadline2024/>
==Cast== * Olivia Colman as Hannah * Aud Mason-Hyde as Frances, Hannah and Harry's child * John Lithgow as Jim/"Jimpa" (Jim Hyde) **Bryn Chapman Parish as young Jim * Kate Box as Emily, Hannah's sister * Daniel Henshall as Harry * Eamon Farren as Richard * Deborah Kennedy as Katherine * Hans Kesting as Uri * Zoë Love Smith as Isa * Romana Vrede as Mirjam ** Ani Sidzamba as Young Mirjam * Jean Janssens as Bis * Frank Sanders as Dede * Kanea Blokland as Dylan * Tilda Cobham-Hervey as herself * Cody Fern as himself
==Production== ''Jimpa'' is directed by Sophie Hyde, written by Matthew Cormack, and co-produced by Liam Heyen, Bryan Mason, and Marleen Slot. The film is a co-production between Australia, the Netherlands, and Finland.<ref name=deadline2024/><ref name=Siemienowicz2024>{{cite web | last=Siemienowicz | first=Rochelle | title=Jimpa: First look at Sophie Hyde's new film | website=ScreenHub Australia | date=9 May 2024 | url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/first-look-at-sophie-hydes-new-film-jimpa-2641129/ | access-date=13 May 2024}}</ref><ref name=kelly2024>{{cite web | last=Noble | first=Kelly | title=Olivia Colman and John Lithgow to star in South Australian film Jimpa | website=Glam Adelaide | date=7 May 2024 | url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/olivia-colman-and-john-lithgow-star-in-south-australian-film-jimpa/ | access-date=13 May 2024}}</ref>
Some filming took place in Adelaide in March 2024,<ref name=Siemienowicz2024/> including one scene at a café in the East End, which stands in for Amsterdam.<ref name=int2025/> Further scenes were shot in Amsterdam and then Helsinki, Finland.<ref name=Siemienowicz2024/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/olivia-colman-john-lithgow-jimpa-lgbtq-family-film-1235994021/|title=Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Lead LGBTQ Family Heartwarmer 'Jimpa,' Launching at Cannes Market From CAA and Protagonist|first=Patrick|last=Frater|work=Variety|date=7 May 2024|access-date=2 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2024/05-08-sophie-hydes-nte-project-jimpa|title=Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project Jimpa |work=Screen Australia|date=8 May 2024|access-date=2 July 2024}}</ref> Post-production took place in Adelaide.<ref name=dare2024>{{cite web |last=Dare |first=Laura |title=SA's screen scene is popping! Here's what to watch where. |website=The Post |date=8 October 2024 |url=https://thepostsa.au/in-the-media/2024/10/08/sas-screen-scene-is-popping-heres-what-to-watch-where/ |access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref>
The story is partly based on Hyde's own family history,<ref name=cortland/><ref name=lee/><ref name=rooney/> with Colman's role as Hannah playing a fictionalised version of Hyde, of which Hyde has said, "In some ways, that was the character that I always felt was least taken from life – but maybe that's just because it's me". Hyde said that ''Jimpa'' is in some ways a companion film to her debut feature, ''52 Tuesdays'' (2013), which charts a relationship with her father as they undergo gender transition.<ref name=int2025>{{cite interview | first= Sophie| last=Hyde| author-link= Sophie Hyde| interviewer-first=Walter | interviewer-last= Marsh| title=‘Visibility is a double-edged sword’: Sophie Hyde on Jimpa, queer families, and Olivia Colman | website=InDaily | date=16 October 2025 | url=https://www.indailysa.com.au/inreview/film-tv/2025/10/09/sophie-hyde-on-jimpa-queer-families-and-olivia-colman | access-date=27 October 2025| quote =Updated 16 October 2025}}</ref> At its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival, Hyde revealed that her father (who died in 2018) had never gone to live in Amsterdam.<ref name=Russell/> He had, however, left his family. Aud Mason-Hyde, who plays Frances in the film, is the child of Hyde and Bryan Mason (who edited the film), and is non-binary.<ref name=Johnson>{{cite web |title=Adelaide Film Festival review: Jimpa |website=InDaily |date=16 October 2025 |first = Heather Taylor |last = Johnson |url=https://www.indailysa.com.au/inreview/film-tv/2025/10/16/adelaide-film-festival-review-jimpa |access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref><ref name=int2025 />
The score was composed by Sydney-based singer, songwriter, producer, and composer Nick Ward.<ref>{{cite web | title=Nick Ward Is Redefining Pop From Sydney To Sundance | website=10 Magazine Australia | date=30 September 2025 | url=https://www.10magazine.com.au/articles/nick-ward-is-redefining-pop-from-sydney-to-sundance | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250812175925/https://www.10magazine.com.au/articles/nick-ward-is-redefining-pop-from-sydney-to-sundance | archive-date=12 August 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Varvaris | first=Mary | title=Nick Ward Locks In His First Feature Film Score | website=The Music | date=12 December 2024 | url=https://themusic.com.au/news/nick-ward-locks-in-his-first-feature-film-score/WP7mSk1MT04/13-12-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250908024651/https://themusic.com.au/news/nick-ward-locks-in-his-first-feature-film-score/WP7mSk1MT04/13-12-24 | archive-date=8 September 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref> Matthew Chuang was cinematographer, and Bryan Mason edited the film.<ref name=affprog>{{cite web | title=Jimpa | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=23 September 2025 | url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2025/jimpa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250923050419/https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2025/jimpa | archive-date=23 September 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref>
The closing credits are accompanied by a cover of MUNA's "I know a place", sung by Australian singer-songwriter Brendan Maclean and Aud Mason-Hyde. Mason-Hyde also sings solo during the film.<ref name =Russell /> The film runs for 112 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/jimpa|title=''Jimpa'' [MA 15+]|date=30 January 2026|access-date=31 January 2026|website=Australian Classification Board}}</ref>
The family and the actors talked about the making of the film in an episode of the documentary series ''Australian Story'' on ABC Television on 16 February 2026, shortly before its release in Australian cinemas.<ref name=gorman2026>{{cite web | last1=Scott | first1=Leisa | last2=Gorman | first2=Vanessa | title=Director Sophie Hyde unpacks long-held family secrets in her latest film Jimpa|series= Australian Story | website=ABC News | date=14 February 2026 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-15/director-sophie-hyde-unpacks-long-held-family-secrets-jimpa/106098238 | access-date=17 February 2026| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20260217002603/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-15/director-sophie-hyde-unpacks-long-held-family-secrets-jimpa/106098238| archive-date =17 Feb 2026| url-status=live}}</ref> Olivia Colman said that ''Jimpa'' "helped restore her faith in her art" because it was such a collaborative and creative process the way that Hyde worked with her actors. She also "love[d] the fact that this film is about learning how to listen to each other without throwing the toys out the crib" and thinks that Hollywood is too nervous about making queer stories. Hyde said that, while all of her films are personal on some level, ''Jimpa'' is the most explicitly personal, naming it after her grandfather and recreating her family structure and stories.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lang | first=Brent | title=Olivia Colman on How 'Jimpa' Helped Her Rediscover Her Love of Acting and Hollywood's Fear of Queer Stories: 'People Are Too Nervous' | website=Variety | date=16 February 2026 | url=https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/olivia-colman-jimpa-hollywood-fear-queer-stories-1236664498/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260217225352/https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/olivia-colman-jimpa-hollywood-fear-queer-stories-1236664498/ | archive-date=17 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref>
==Release== The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2025.<ref>{{cite web | title=Program Guide | website=2025 Sundance Film Festival | url=https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67531ffe707ccdb18d0888c3 | access-date=1 January 2025 | archive-date=1 January 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250101065413/https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67531ffe707ccdb18d0888c3 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Pennick | first=Bailey | title="Jimpa" Asks You to Choose Love | website=Sundance Film Festival | date=24 January 2025 | url=https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/jimpa-asks-you-to-choose-love/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426204457/https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/jimpa-asks-you-to-choose-love/ | archive-date=26 April 2025 | url-status=unfit | access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref><ref name=deadline2024>{{cite web|title=Sundance 2025: JLo, Sly Stone, Putin, Ayo Edebiri, André Holland, & Ex-NZ PM Jacinda Ardern Films Among Park City Festival Offerings|website=Deadline Hollywood|first1=Anthony|last1=D'Alessandro|first2=Dominic|last2=Patten|date=11 December 2024|access-date=11 December 2024|url=https://deadline.com/2024/12/sundance-film-festival-lineup-2025-movies-1236200107/}}</ref> It had its Australian premiere as the opening gala film at the Adelaide Film Festival on 15 October 2025 at the Capri Theatre.<ref name=greenroom>{{cite web | title=Green Room: Local premiere for Olivia Colman's Adelaide film, tributes for Writers' Week director | website=InDaily | date=14 August 2025 | url=https://www.indailysa.com.au/inreview/green-room/2025/08/14/green-room-local-premiere-for-olivia-colmans-adelaide-film-tributes-for-writers-week-director | access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Opening Night Gala | website=Adelaide Film Festival | url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2025/jimpa-opening-night-gala | access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref>
Following the Sundance premiere, it was reported that the film was struggling to find a US distributor, with some citing the rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in the country following the second inauguration of Donald Trump as a reason for the lack of studio interest.<ref>{{cite web | last=Brent Lang | first=Rebecca Rubin | title=Sundance Freezes Over: Where Were the Deals, Anti-Trump Politics and Drama That Gave the Festival Its Sizzle? | website=Variety | date=29 January 2025 | url=https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sundance-film-festival-freezes-no-deals-anti-trump-politics-1236289251/ | access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref> The film was later picked up for release in the US by distributor Kino Lorber, who partnered with Hyde on her first film, ''52 Tuesdays''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2025-12-09 |title=Kino Lorber Dates Family Drama ‘Jimpa’ Starring Olivia Colman, John Lithgow & Aud Mason-Hyde |url=https://deadline.com/2025/12/jimpa-release-date-set-kino-lorber-exclusive-1236643588/ |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>
The film was distributed in Europe by Netherlands-based Cinéart.<ref>{{cite web | title=Jimpa | website=Cinéart | date=30 April 2025 | url=https://www.cineart.nl/films/jimpa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250811023506/https://www.cineart.nl/films/jimpa | archive-date=11 August 2025 | url-status=live | language=nl | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref> The film had a limited theatrical release in Slovakia on 4 December 2025 and in the United States on 6 February 2026 (10 cinemas), where it grossed $24,291 by 15 February.<ref name=BOM>{{cite web | title=Jimpa | website=Box Office Mojo | date=6 February 2026 | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl201228289/weekend/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260217012525/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl201228289/weekend/ | archive-date=17 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref><ref name=NUM>{{cite web |title=Jimpa|website=The Numbers | url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jimpa-(2025-Australia)#tab=summary | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260217030337/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jimpa-(2025-Australia)#tab=summary | archive-date=17 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref>
The film is being distributed in Australia by Sydney-based Kismet Movies.<ref>{{cite web | title=Releases/Events | website=Kismet | url=https://www.kismetmovies.com/releases | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref>
''Jimpa'' opened the 33rd Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney on 12 February 2026, in its New South Wales premiere.<ref>{{cite web | title=Announces JIMPA as Opening Night of the 33rd Mardi Gras Film Festival | website=Queer Screen | date=12 January 2026 | url=https://queerscreen.org.au/jimpa-mgff26-openingnight/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260210013126/https://queerscreen.org.au/jimpa-mgff26-openingnight/ | archive-date=10 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref> In a special screening at Cinema Nova in Melbourne on 17 February, Hyde, Aud Mason-Hyde, and Daniel Henshall gave a Q&A afterwards.<ref>{{cite web | title=Jimpa: MEET THE FILMMAKER: Tuesday February 17, 6:45pm. | website= Cinema Nova | url=https://www.cinemanova.com.au/films/jimpa | access-date=17 February 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260102020608/https://www.cinemanova.com.au/films/jimpa| archive-date =2 Jan 2026| url-status=live}}</ref> The film is being released in Australian cinemas on 19 February 2026.<ref>{{cite web | title=Jimpa | website=Palace Cinemas | url=https://www.palacecinemas.com.au/movies/jimpa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260217010326/https://www.palacecinemas.com.au/movies/jimpa | archive-date=17 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Jimpa | website=Event Cinemas | date=17 February 2026 | url=https://www.eventcinemas.com.au/Movie/Jimpa#date=2026-02-18 | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref>
== Reception == {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|55||47|ref=yes|access-date=18 February 2026}} {{Metacritic film prose|50|13|ref=yes|access-date=18 February 2026}} Critics' reviews after Sundance were mostly lukewarm, praising the performances of Colman and Lithgow, but suggesting that Hyde tries to cover too much ground, resulting in a meandering plot.<ref>{{cite web | last=Adlakha | first=Siddhant | title='Jimpa' review: Does Sundance's buzzed-about queer family drama live up to the hype? | website=Mashable | date=28 January 2025 | url=https://mashable.com/article/jimpa-review | access-date=12 September 2025}}</ref><ref name=cortland>{{cite web | last=Jacoby | first=Cortland | title=Sundance 2025: 'Jimpa' | website=Punch Drunk Critics | date=29 January 2025 | url=https://punchdrunkcritics.com/2025/01/sundance-2025-jimpa/ | access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref><ref name=lee>{{cite web | last=Lee | first=Benjamin | title=Jimpa review – Olivia Colman soars in otherwise muddled queer family drama | website=The Guardian | date=24 January 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/24/jimpa-movie-review-sundance | access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref><ref name=rooney>{{cite web | last=Rooney | first=David | title='Jimpa' Review: Olivia Colman and John Lithgow in a Well-Intentioned but Numbingly Earnest Inter-Generational Queer Family Drama | website=The Hollywood Reporter | date=24 January 2025 | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/jimpa-review-olivia-colman-john-lithgow-1236116500/ | access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref> Robert Daniels writing on RogerEbert.com, criticised the film's lack of nuance and subtlety, and called it a "sprawling endeavor" that lacks focus.<ref>{{cite web | title=Sundance 2025: Twinless, Ricky, Jimpa |first=Robert |last=Daniels| website=Roger Ebert | date=25 January 2025 | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/sundance-2025-twinless-ricky-jimpa | access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref>
Peter Debruge, writing in ''Variety'', calls the film "category-defying", and said that Lithgow's role was his richest since ''The World According to Garp''.<ref>{{cite web | last=Debruge | first=Peter | title='Jimpa' Review: A Liberated John Lithgow Sets the Tone for an Unkempt Homage to Tradition-Defying Kin | website=Variety | date=24 January 2025 | url=https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/jimpa-review-john-lithgow-olivia-colman-1236283624/ | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref> Chase Hutchinson, writing for ''TheWrap'', wrote that Hyde "capture[d] a life...about as fully as one could ever hope to do", and that the film is "not just incisive and compassionate, but fully attuned to the rhythms of this modern family". He writes that Olivia Colman and John Lithgow "soar" in the film, but reserves particular praise for Aud Mason-Hyde, saying that they are "a breakout star". He also praises the cinematography by Matthew Chuang.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hutchinson | first=Chase | title='Jimpa' Review: Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Soar in Beautiful, Bittersweet Drama | website=TheWrap | date=24 January 2025 | url=https://www.thewrap.com/jimpa-review-sundance-2025-olivia-colman-john-lithgow/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250716132832/https://www.thewrap.com/jimpa-review-sundance-2025-olivia-colman-john-lithgow/ | archive-date=16 July 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref>
After the film's Adelaide premiere, Stephen A. Russell, writing in ScreenHub Australia, gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, praising the acting (Mason-Hyde is "revelatory"; "the brilliant Box exaggerates her brassy Australianness with fizzing fabulousness") as well as many aspects of the film production, including direction, cinematography, musical score, and editing. He writes that Hyde "explores family dynamics with sensitivity and subtlety", in this "meta-textually sumptuous reckoning with [her] upbringing, which freely and fictitiously rewrites that narrative".<ref name=Russell>{{cite web |last=Russell |first=Stephen A |title=Jimpa review: supple and rewarding cinema |website=ScreenHub Australia |date=16 October 2025 |url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/reviews/jimpa-review-supple-and-rewarding-cinema-2682863/ |access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref> Heather Taylor Johnson, writing in ''InDaily'', says that the writers (Hyde and McCormack) are "interested in spotlighting an intergenerational queer family in which people love one another unconditionally and are proud of one another, where they choose how to live their lives fearlessly, with openness and love and boundless support". She highlights one of the questions posed by Hannah, whether drama can exist without conflict, and concludes that it can.<ref name=Johnson/>
Peter Gray of ''The AU Review'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, summing up: "Jimpa may not always trust its viewers to read between the lines, but it's an emotive, compassionate portrait of a family trying – imperfectly, tenderly – to love each other well. And in a cinematic landscape that often reduces queer stories to trauma or triumph, there’s something quietly radical about a film that simply lets a family talk, argue, and stay".<ref>{{cite web | last=Gray | first=Peter | title=Film Review: Jimpa is a warm and talkative portrait of queer family | website=The AU Review | date=17 February 2026 | url=https://www.theaureview.com/watch/film-review-jimpa/ | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref> ''Stun Magazine'', a Canberra-based magazine for the queer community, gave it 4.5 stars.<ref name="e146">{{cite web | title=Film review: Jimpa | website=Stun Magazine | date=4 February 2026 | url=https://stunmagazine.com.au/film-review-jimpa/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260217235222/https://stunmagazine.com.au/film-review-jimpa/ | archive-date=17 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref> ''FilmInk'''s Cain Noble-Davies, while praising aspects of the film, wrote "it often feels like the film gets lost on its own journey across the family's subplots", and opines that it is not as strong as Hyde's previous films in terms of audience engagement.<ref>{{cite web | first=Cain |last=Noble-Davies | title=Jimpa | website=FilmInk | date=7 February 2026 | url=https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/jimpa/ | access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref>
==See also== * Cinema of Australia
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|23745668}} * "[https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-screen-show/sophie-hyde-jordan-giusti/106306980 Sophie Hyde: Jimpa / Jordan Giusti: Floodland]". Sophie Hyde talks to Jason di Rosso on ''The Screen Show'', ABC Radio National, 19 February 2026
Category:2025 films Category:2025 Australian films Category:2025 English-language films Category:Films shot in Adelaide Category:Films shot in Amsterdam Category:Films shot in Helsinki Category:Australian drama films Category:2025 LGBTQ-related films Category:Australian LGBTQ-related films Category:2025 drama films Category:2020s LGBTQ-related drama films Category:English-language drama films