Amber Gray-Led HEARTWORM to Play at 2026 Dances With Films Festival
The screening will take place Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.
Heartworm, a new sci-fi drama featuring Tony Award nominee and Rocky Horror star Amber Gray, will hold its SoCal Premiere at the 29th Annual Dances With Films: LA on Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.
Set in a near future, Heartworm follows Avena (Gray), a bereaved mother shattered by the loss of their child. While she battles to pull her family back from the edge of disappearance, her husband Mark (Juan Riedinger) has retreated into NeuraLife, a digital ecosystem indistinguishable from reality, which offers advanced AI-generated simulations capable of recreating memory, voice, and personality. Avena is soon forced to confront the question at the center of the film: when does memory become a dangerous substitute for acceptance?
The movie marks the feature film debut of Gray, who is known for her performance as Persephone in Hadestown and can currently be seen in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show. It also stars Juan Riedinger, Tony Award winner Lillias White, Ellie Reine, and Derrick Baskin.
Written and directed by Miriam Louise Arens and Mitchell Arens, Heartworm held its World Premiere at the 2026 Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in Silicon Valley in March. It has earned Official Selection laurels from Cinequest 2026, Dances With Films: LA 2026, Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, and Woods Hole Film Festival.
Miriam and Mitchell Arens are NYU Tisch Asia alumni whose work has screened at Sundance, Cannes, Venice, SXSW, TIFF, IDFA, and Berlinale. Heartworm marks their feature directorial debut, produced by Normandie Films.
Photo Credit: Mitchell Arens
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