I have composed the score to the feature film “Birthright” written and Directed by Zoe Pepper. The film has been selected to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2025 in New York
Evicted and jobless, Cory and his pregnant wife are forced to stay with his parents. As the younger couple’s stay extends the parents’ become worried that their disappointing son will never leave the house. Desperate to prove himself, the edges of Cory’s reality slip away and he finds an unexpected path to success that detonates the family.
Is there anything worse than to be evicted and lose your job when you’re a couple pregnant with your first child? Broke and directionless, Cory and his wife Jasmine may not think so, but that’s before they’re forced to move in with Cory’s parents: the stern Richard and the icy cold Lyn. At first, the discomfort and awkwardness stem from the obvious — Cory’s folks are disappointed in their son and how his choices have led him back to their doorstep. But the longer the young couple stays, the more paranoid, fraught and furious they get, setting off an escalating power struggle that gives new meaning to “family dysfunction.”
With the funny and twisted Birthright, Australian writer-director Zoe Pepper makes an auspicious debut heralding the arrival of an exciting new voice in the world of pitch-black comedy. Pepper’s unique blend of absurdist humor and demented genre thrills provides the foundation for a scathing commentary on generational inequalities and toxic family dynamics. Consider it an intergenerational War of the Roses.—Matt Barone
Written & Directed by: Zoe Pepper
Produced by: Cody Greenwood
Distributor: Madman Entertainment
Status: In Cinemas 2025