Matt Barats' 'Anchors Aweigh' Plays TIFF, Seeks U.S. Distribution — SkimNews
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- "Anchors Aweigh" is writer-director Matt Barats' second feature, following 2023's "Cash Cow" and produced by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's Abso Lutely Productions (the company behind "Nathan For You" and "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!")
- Barats both writes and stars as an unnamed NYC creative who, after his wealthy girlfriend Megan (Serena Profaci) rejects his marriage proposal, moves into the cheapest accommodation he can find and alternates between watching DV tapes of his college years and 20s and filming new monologues around the city
- The review frames the film as a "hyper-specific millennial meltdown gloss" on Ross McElwee's 1986 documentary "Sherman's March," with Barats performing the "stupider and schmuckier" director-persona David Foster Wallace once described for his own comic nonfiction essays
- The 71-minute feature leans into satirical sailing metaphors and archivel touchstones including reaction videos to the 2007 "Two Girls, One Cup" video and footage of Barats rambling about not wanting to support the Bush-era government while driving a pickup truck
- "Anchors Aweigh" premiered at the Oak Cliff International Film Festival 2026 and screened in the Midnight Madness section of TIFF 2026; the review notes it is currently seeking U.S. distribution
- The review judges the film's formal conceit "conceptually airtight" and its laughs continuous despite the narrow comic lane — though it notes that even 71 minutes is a stretch for that lane
Why it matters: Barats joins the Abso Lutely roster of filmmakers building on the McElwee-lineage first-person documentary-comedy tradition (Nathan For You, John Wilson), giving indie distribution scouts a festival-circuit comedy with built-in audience loyalty — but until a U.S. distributor attaches, the film's commercial reach remains unfixed.
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