Filmed in evocative black and white, A Perfect Day for Caribou, starring Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete; Looking for Alaska) and Jeb Berrier (First Cow; Shrill) will make its US premiere at Slamdance Film Festival. Also starring in the film are Rachael Perrell Fosket, Dana Millican, and Oellis Levine.

Written and directed by Jeff Rutherford (making his feature film debut), A Perfect Day for Caribou follows an estranged father and son who spend the day ambling around a cemetery, wandering the wilderness, searching for family, and stumbling through disharmony and heartache.

The film tells the story of just one day in the life of Herman, Nate, and Ralph. Herman is an alcoholic with a depleted appetite for life. Nate is an anxious young father reckoning with his past so he might move further into the future. And Ralph is a misunderstood child truly off in his own world…

It’s early morning and Herman speaks into a tape recorder, dictating a final message to his estranged son, Nate. As he rambles on about the last Caribou herd in North America, his mobile phone rings – it’s Nate, all these years later. That afternoon, they meet up at a cemetery on the edge of an unknown town. Nate brings his own boy along, a six year old named Ralph, who carelessly plays and runs around in the distance as Herman and Nate stumble through ten years worth of conversation.

They navigate hills and valleys, forests and open plains. All the while, in an uneven and awkward pattern, they attempt to connect with one another. They have until nightfall to do so, and for Herman, today might be his last. For Nate, it could be the start of a new beginning. For Ralph, who knows – perhaps he is just another Caribou.

Watch the first trailer for A Perfect Day for Caribou.