Sophie Hyde, the acclaimed Australian filmmaker behind Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, and 52 Tuesdays, returns with Jimpa, a deeply personal drama that charts the emotional currents of a multi-generational family navigating identity, love, and belonging.
Starring Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman as Hannah and John Lithgow as her estranged father affectionately known as “Jimpa,” the film centers on an unconventional journey from Adelaide to Amsterdam, where a non-binary teenager’s heartfelt desire to stay with their grandfather begins to unravel long-buried tensions and reveals fresh perspectives on love, family, and self-discovery.
Also starring in the film are Aud Mason-Hyde, Daniel Henshall, Kate Box, Eamon Farren, and Cody Fern.
Following its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January, Jimpa has since been featured as opening night selections at major LGBTQ+ film celebrations, including NewFest Pride and Frameline49 this spring, and most recently as the opening gala film at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2025. It is slated for release in the United States in a limited theatrical run beginning February 6, 2026 via Kino Lorber.
In the film, filmmaker Hannah (Olivia Colman) takes her trans nonbinary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, lovingly known as “Jimpa” (John Lithgow). When Frances expresses a desire to stay with Jimpa for a year abroad, Hannah is forced to reconsider her parenting beliefs and the stories she has long told about her family. As Jimpa faces the difficulties of aging as a gay man in a generation that never expected to grow old and Frances grapples with the disappointment of heroes falling short of their ideals, Hannah learns to navigate the differing perspectives of her father and her child.
Inspired by her own experiences as part of a queer family, this intimate, authentic film from acclaimed filmmaker Sophie Hyde (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) is her most personal story yet. Told with empathy, humor, compassion, and joy, Jimpa celebrates the unique loves and challenges of a modern queer family across three generations.
Sophie Hyde emphasized the emotional grounding of Jimpa, particularly amid rising cultural tensions, saying, “This film is not about the divisive politicisation of trans and gender diverse people, or the culture war that rages in ideas and fear. This is about people in a family, filled with nuanced expressions of themselves, trying to live authentically, to be with each other, to allow for each other. This is a story about love.”
Watch the official trailer for Jimpa above.
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