Josephine: Why Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum’s Sundance Hit Is Everywhere Today

Updated 9 Nov 2026, 16:07 · First published 9 Nov 2026

Gemma Chan is one of the most-searched names in the UK today, and the reason is Josephine – the Sundance double-winner in which the London-born actor stars opposite Channing Tatum. The film opens in UK and US cinemas on Friday 20 November.

Written and directed by Beth de Araújo, Josephine follows an eight-year-old girl in San Francisco who witnesses a violent assault in Golden Gate Park. What happens next is not a whodunnit but a study of the aftermath: the fear and paranoia that settle over a child, and the way her parents – played by Tatum and Chan – struggle to protect her while dealing with their own guilt, anger and helplessness.

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Newcomer Mason Reeves plays Josephine, and early audiences have singled her out as the heart of the film. Tatum plays her father Damien, Chan her mother Claire.

Why everyone is talking about it

Winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance is rare – it means the film impressed the jury and the paying public at the same festival. After the festival the film was acquired by Sumerian Pictures in February.

Reviews have praised the film for refusing to sensationalise its subject. Much of the story is told from the child’s point of view, which is why so much attention has gone to Reeves’s performance – and why the film works as a portrait of a family as much as a thriller.

A different role for Channing Tatum

For Tatum, best known for Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street and big-budget action, Josephine is one of the most serious roles of his career. He plays a father whose instinct to protect his daughter starts to turn into something harder to control.

Gemma Chan: from London to Hollywood

Chan was born in London, grew up in Sevenoaks in Kent and studied law at Oxford before training at the Drama Centre London. She broke through in Channel 4’s Humans and went on to Crazy Rich Asians, Marvel’s Eternals and Don’t Worry Darling. Josephine gives her one of her most emotionally demanding parts yet, as a mother trying to hold her family together.

Before you go: Josephine deals with sexual violence witnessed by a child and is expected to carry an adult certificate. Check the BBFC rating and content advice at your cinema before booking.

When and where to see it

Josephine is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20 November 2026. London listings should go live on the major chains’ websites during the week of release.

Photo: Motortion Films / Shutterstock (illustrative)