By: Sarah Morton
Dindin, the indie gem that has been generating buzz within the industry, is now available to stream on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, thanks to Good Deed Entertainment. Directed by Brendan Patrick Hughes, a critically acclaimed producer-director and Tribeca-selected podcaster, and written by Brenda Withers, Dindin is shaking up the independent film landscape with its unique tone, razor-sharp dialogue, and stellar performances.
Set in a remote coastal town, Dindin follows the dynamics of four distinct personalities trapped in a seemingly civil dinner party. As conversations unravel and social facades drop, sharp words and flying plates give way to a darkly comedic yet deeply unsettling evening, revealing the barely-contained wildness within each of these characters—and within all of us.
“Dinner parties put a lot of moral questions on the table—who eats what, who holds their tongues, how everything gets paid for—so it was a naturally rich canvas to explore,” explains Withers. “The film’s story was inspired by the many fancy dinners I’ve attended as a starving artist. Until pretty recently, showing up to one of those as a vegetarian usually raised some eyebrows and some beggars-shouldn’t-be-choosers undertones.”
For Hughes, the challenge was to maintain momentum in a narrative so confined in space. “Cinematographer Emily Topper and I discussed at great length whether we should open the world of the film to include other parts of the characters’ lives, but we eventually landed on confining the camera to the alchemical brew of these four humans,” Hughes shared. Topper, known for her celebrated work on *Conan Must Go* and Netflix documentaries on Taylor Swift and Britney Spears, brought her documentary expertise to craft a visual style that hones in on the visceral human experience. She uses long takes and close-ups to make the audience feel like an uninvited guest at the table.
The film’s strength also lies in the collaboration between the actors and director, developed through years of working together at the Harbor Stage Company. “There’s a level of trust there that you cannot manufacture,” says Robert, who plays the charming yet complex Pierre. “It’s rhythmically seamless because we’ve bounced off each other in a hundred different situations. You’re able to be much more free and much more open.”
The quartet of actors, including Jonathan, Brenda, and Robert, share a chemistry that permeates every scene, creating a captivating blend of tension and humor. Jonathan notes, “When you have the experience of working together on multiple quick projects over an extended period of time, you develop a vocabulary together that becomes shorthand. There’s no ego or fear—just an openness to create something special.”
The film’s unconventional approach to genre is another standout feature. Dindin refuses to be pigeonholed. As Withers explains, “It’s a comedy of manners that veers into drama and horror and farce and doesn’t sit too long in any one place. Part of the piece’s experiment is how to keep a simple evening, one long and winding conversation, suspenseful. We settle in the realm of a philosophical thriller.”
For Hughes, the film transcends genre altogether: “Dindin is perhaps post-genre. It flirts with becoming a murder mystery, it flirts with the grisly violence of a thriller, it flirts with the comedy of manners like the films of Whit Stillman. Ultimately, it subverts all expectations and presents something even more radical: the almost-impossibility of true human connection.”
Given its setting—a coastal town reminiscent of the actors’ experiences at the Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet—Dindin takes on an added layer of authenticity. “The town tends to feel like it’s one-third retired psychiatrists, one-third starving artists, and one-third hard-working fishermen,” says Hughes. “A dinner party that collides those three demographics is definitely one I’d want to be a part of. The sound mix in the film works to build this coastal, wet, autumn evening in the offing—from distant ferryboat horns that have a knack for appearing during moments when the characters would like to scream to the halyard slaps from the nearby marina.”
With such a strong foundation in both narrative and visual style, Dindin is becoming a standout in the indie film space. The film’s experimental nature has already captured the attention of festival audiences, who have gasped and laughed their way through its intricate portrayal of human nature.
“We hope the film sparks conversations,” says Withers. “For a piece centered around moral relativism, that’s a satisfying response. Ultimately, I hope the conversations in the movie inspire conversations after the movie—like an act two or a late-night snack you need another bite of.”
Now that Dindin is available on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Apple TV, it is ready to enthrall a wider audience. As Hughes reflects on the digital distribution opportunities these platforms offer: “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be making films. Gone are the days of water cooler conversations about the same film everyone saw over the weekend. Now, it’s about the gems you stumble upon. With Dindin, we want audiences to feel like it’s theirs and only theirs.”
Published by: Josh Tatunay
