DUBAI: US Iraqi actress Alia Shawkat is at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the US, to promote her latest projects.
Shawkat attended the premiere of “Atropia” on Saturday, before hitting the stage with actor Jon Hamm to discuss their Audible original series “The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery” on Sunday.
“Atropia” is a 2025 American war satire film written and directed by Hailey Gates. The film follows an aspiring actress, played by Shawkat, who works on a US military base that simulates an Iraqi war zone.
Alia Shawkat at the Deadline 2025 Sundance Film Festival Portrait Studio held at the Deadline Studio on January 25, 2025 in Park City, Utah. (Getty Images)
It is a real concept that the US military employs, with the director telling IndieWire that she “tried to make a documentary about it first.”
“So I did a lot of research and visited a bunch of the bases. Sort of working my way up the (Department of Defence), and they weren’t interested in my documentary. So then I thought it was a subject ripe for satire. I think America’s misunderstanding of the people they’re invading is inherently comedic,” Gates added.
Shawkat also stars in audio thriller “The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery,” in which Hamm plays Jack Bergin, an FBI agent turned private investigator.
The eight-part series, created by John Mankiewicz and directed by Aaron Lipstadt, is a sequel to Audible’s cinematic audio drama “The Big Lie.” The new season debuts on Audible on April 24 and tells “a riveting tale of corruption and displacement in 1950s Los Angeles,” according to Audible.
Hamm is joined by returning cast members Ana de la Reguera and John Slattery, alongside newcomers Shawkat, Omar Epps, Erin Moriarty, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Sosie Bacon, David Giuntoli and Taylor Zakhar Perez.
The series is set in 1957, when Bergin finds himself entangled in a web of power, corruption and murder that reaches local government.
In a released statement, Shawkat commented: “I’m proud to be a part of such an outstanding project, and I’m eager for listeners to immerse themselves in this captivating story we’ve crafted together. I really enjoyed playing in this era with a fast-paced, well-written mystery.”
