James Sweeney returns to Frameline49 with TWINLESS, opposite Dylan O’Brien

By Oliver Carnay

Frameline #frameline49 wrapped up its 11-day festival with the Closing Night film “TWINLESS” last Saturday (June 28) at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco .. writer-director, actor James Sweeney @sweeneytawd arrived at the red carpet feeling a bit under the weather but excited to see and meet with his favorite audience festival in the world (sorry, Sundance, that’s according to him) ..

.. prior to the screening and Q&A, @kate_bove (Frameline Publicity & Project Manager), together with Matthew Wong (Festival Distribution Manager) announced the Award Winners ..

.. outgoing Frameline President Ryan McNeill, assisted by Frameline Exec. Director Allegra Madsen, brought McNeill Frameline team onstage, a salute for years of excellent service to the festival, where he also acknowledged all the volunteers ..

.. at the Q&A, Sweeney revealed the film suffered many setbacks during the pandemic and the writers strike .. he started writing the first draft in 2015, got greenlighted in 2019, and got O’Brien in the cast in 2020 but he thinks things happen at the right time .. TWINLESS is a dark comedy with an original unique story, hilariously funny, with a smart screenplay that also touches the territory of grief and loneliness ..

.. O’Brien plays a dual role where Roman deals with the loss of his twin brother Rocky .. the narrative follows Roman as he navigates the complexities of grief and identity after Rocky’s death and seeks solace in a support group where he meets Dennis, played by Sweeney .. they clicked immediately and started a friendship .. but the friendship is questioned because of a dark secret Dennis is holding up to disclose, and that will affect their budding relationship .. Sweeney did a great job writing, directing and acting (my favorite among his films!) and Dylan O’Brien (he got me in more than a couple of scenes, excellent actor!) .. the film will be released in theatres nationwide on September 5th and is distributed internationally by Sony Classics .. go see this film! ..