Director and CalArts alum Mike Ott (Film/Video BFA 03, MFA 05) reckons with the legacy of a national tragedy in McVeigh, painting a stark portrait of one of the nation’s most ill-famed domestic terrorists. Ott’s latest film arrives in theaters and on video on demand (VOD) on Friday, March 21.
This latest release by Decal Releasing is a semi-fictionalized account of Timothy McVeigh and the events leading up to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing:
A haunting psychological thriller based on one of America’s most infamous figures. After the Waco siege, a chilling plan brews in the mind of army veteran Timothy McVeigh. What follows are the harrowing real-life events of the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history.
The titular character is portrayed by Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), playing alongside Brett Gelman (Stranger Things) as McVeigh’s real-life co-conspirator Terry Nichols. Directed and written by Ott, McVeigh premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in the Spotlight Narrative section. Festival director Cara Cusumano offered the film the following praise: “Like a bird circling inevitably closer into the tragedy at its center, the film paints around the edges with swift and sparse strokes. What emerges is a deeply unsettling likeness of the American memory.”
Watch the trailer for McVeigh below, and find information about tickets and preorder on Decal Releasing.
Ott is a director, writer, and producer arguably best known for his Antelope Valley trilogy, created in collaboration with fellow CalArtian Atsuko Okatsuka (Film/Video-Critical Studies MFA 15). The trilogy comprises Littlerock (2010), Pearblossom Hwy (2012), and Lake Los Angeles (2014). Littlerock, starring Okatsuka, earned several distinctions, including the 2010 Gotham Award for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You and the 2011 Someone to Watch Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
