A coming-of-age romcom following Sam and JJ, two 18-yr-olds facing adulthood. When it becomes clear Sam intends to leave their small town for new adventures in California, JJ dares her to let him prove why Ohio is worth sticking around for.
Similar to Lady Bird and CODA, Escaping Ohio captures that crucial moment everyone goes through when contemplating leaving home.
“A gem of a film.”
-Film Threat
“Nostalgic, wonderful, and empowering.”
-MovieMaker Magazine
“The best indie romance I’ve seen in a long time.”
-Katie Mae Peters, Producer & Co-Founder of Shadow Park Pictures
“Delightful from beginning to end.”
-Film Threat
“The next coming-of-age classic.”
-TheDonavanRose, TikTok Pop Culture Enthusiast
“Davis commands tone in her feature debut like a seasoned master.”
-Film Threat
“Davis is perfect as the lead.”
-Film Threat
“Kelly-Sordelet excels.”
-Film Threat
“The drama and comedy complement each other perfectly, creating a lighthearted movie with relevant stakes for the wonderfully drawn characters.”
-Film Threat
9/10 on Film Threat!
Escaping Ohio World Premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatres as part of the 26th Dances With Films Film Festival
Meet the Cast
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Jessica Michael Davis
Award-winning actor best known for her lead roles in Escaping Ohio, Jane, and For the Gram which premiered at HollyShorts and is now streaming.
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Collin Kelly-Sordelet
Award-winning actor best known for his role as Walt, opposite Joey King, in Radium Girls which premiered at Tribeca and is now on Netflix, as well as his role as Ray Cooper in Wildling, opposite Liv Tyler and Bel Powley, which premiered at SXSW and is now on Netflix. Collin was the leading role in Sting's Broadway musical, The Last Ship, and recently portrayed JJ in the Tony-winning play, The Ferrymen.
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Emily Bergl
Best known for her role as Sammi Slott in Shameless, Francis in Gilmore Girls, Beth Young on Desperate Housewives, Tessie in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel & many more. She also portrayed Mary in the Tony-winning play, The Ferrymen and is now starring in the new Broadway play, Goodbye Oscar, opposite Sean Hayes.
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Adam Pascal
Adam is a Tony-award nominated actor best known as Roger Davis in Rent and Theo in School of Rock. He is also known for his roles in Aida, Cabaret, Something Rotten & many more, as well as recently appearing on Marvel’s Hawkeye.
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Carolyn Kang
Carolyn is best known for her recent role as Lisa in Comedy Central's Awkwafina is Nora From Queens and is the voice of the 2022 American Girl doll of the year, Corrine Tan, the first Asian-American girl of the year.
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Alexandria Benford
Her most recent roles include The First Lady, FBI, Bull, and Dynasty, and HBO Max's The Other Two and the indie feature film Discarded Things, playing opposite Madison Bailey. She is also known as Ali Byes, the Butterfinger Investigator.
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Emma Elle Paterson
Emma is best known as Mitchy is the Tubi Original, Terror Train, and her role in X-Men: Apocalypse, as well as Aïsha in TV series Makinium.
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Kylie Victoria Edwards
Kylie is best known as Angela Schermerhorn in The Gilded Age and Doris in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, as well as her appearance in Westworld and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
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Lacey Caroline
Lacey is an award-winning actor best known as the NBC Kid Reporter for Supercross LIVE and NASCAR, as well as starring in the Hallmark movie, A Christmas Love Story, opposite Kristin Chenoweth.
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Jordan Isaiah White
Jordan is best known for his role as Matty in The Black Phone starring Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw.
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Johnny Manibusan
Johnny is best known for his role as Skinhead in Polaroid Stories where he earned critical acclaim at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, as well as his leading role in the short films Me + Lee and bLESsed.
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Jeffrey Weber
Jeffrey is best known for his lead roles in the award-winning short Appetite by Besties Make Movies, as well as his recent leading roles in Queen of Magic and Betty Bites Back.
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Ben Jaeger-Thomas
Ben is best known for his roles in Bull, The Deuce, The Other Two, Netflix's Iliza Schlesinger Sketch Show, and Comedy Central's Goat Face.
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Cadden Jones
Cadden is best known for her roles in FBI: Most Wanted, Katy Keene, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Billions, Jessica Jones, Shades of Blue, and Mr. Robot.