A Reel Heist (2024)

Every day of the summer, Wally and his tightly knit crew of cinephile buddies chip away at completing their no-budget heist film. With no funding or union rules, the gang displays impressive feats of production value through a fundamental guerrilla technique: shoot first and ask permission later. The film is nearly complete; all that remains on the shooting schedule are a few simple pick-up shots at the dreaded, monolithic Sanford Mall. The manager of which is the impulsive Warren Harper, father to the lead actress in Wally's film, Paige. The shoot at Sanford, which was supposed to be a simple in-and-out job, goes worse than Wally could have ever imagined. Warren catches the youngsters filming, and sees it as a perfect opportunity to exert his dwindling authority over them. He confiscates the group's memory card, which contains the only existing files of every scene they've ever shot. Now the crew of young artists must compile what they've learned from fictionalizing heists, and execute a complex caper of their own. Each member of the cast and crew put forth a unique aspect of their filmmaking expertise to accomplish their plan, utilizing their knowledge of A/V hi-tech, performance art, and every low-budget trick in the book. Together, Wally and his 5 collaborators put in motion a risky heist that will either send them to jail for the duration of their young lives, or retrieve the only thing that could jumpstart their careers.