Pop Pop
A creatively fearless parable of contemporary concerns amid the queasy atmospherics of an online space falling apart at the seams.
Dustin and Dibz are best pals; they survived their senior year of college, and their future looks bright. They share an apartment, an internet series, and the dream of finding their place in an uncertain landscape, navigating male fragility and identity crisis. The challenges of messy adult manhood are fully open to them.
Dylan Stephen Levers’ stunning debut doubles the bet: he tackles complex topics and contemporary concerns while introducing his voice as a new creative talent. A mash-up of viral meme culture and social media references, set in a makeup digital environment with a retrofuturistic aesthetic, makes us dive into the complex layers of toxic masculinity, cancel culture, and radical positioning, going beyond the standards of black comedy.
Sharp and surprising, “Pop Pop” arrives in a perfect historical hysterical moment. Strong and visionary, it’s one of the boldest films of this year’s festival, and certainly the bravest debut. “Pop Pop” is an innovative parable that brings us to a world that’s tricky to face.
Javier Garcia Puerto
Biography
Dylan Stephen Levers is a New York based filmmaker and writer who was born in Peru but grew up in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the National Theater Institute’s Advanced Directing Program. His short film “this is a film about tom and maddy.” (2013) screened internationally, was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick, and was curated on NoBudge.com. Prior to making films, he worked as a theater director. In 2016, he premiered a series of bite-sized films online called Short Shorts, and in the summer of 2018, began writing a series of tiny essays. He was a 2009 EMERGENYC Artist-Activist Fellow, a 2011 recipient of the Stage Directors’ and Choreographers’ Foundation Observership Program, and a 2011 Member of Lincoln Center Theater’s Director Lab.
Filmography
Pop Pop (2026)
Screenings
