Grab your beret and your heart—because *Fairyland* is set to sweep us into a kaleidoscopic San Francisco of the ’70s and ’80s with more warmth, love, and tears than you can carry.
Adapted from Alysia Abbott’s beloved memoir, the film follows young Alysia (Emilia Jones) growing up under the care of her poet father Steve (Scoot McNairy), who comes out as gay after her mom’s death and embraces a bohemian circle of artists, activists, and queer chosen family.
Directed by Andrew Durham and produced by filmmaker Sofia Coppola, *Fairyland* premieres in theaters October 10 and brings visual poetry to queer memory and the AIDS era—think soft-focus, tear-stained letters, and jazz riffs over street protests.
The first trailer teases a daughter absorbing both the art and the heartbreak of her father’s world, including lines like “When you keep a secret about something for so long, it becomes a part of you,” and Steve’s haunting wish to raise Alysia differently the way he was raised.
With a supporting cast that includes Geena Davis as Alysia’s grandmother, plus Maria Bakalova, Cody Fern, Bella Murphy, and even an Adam Lambert cameo, *Fairyland* already feels like a queer-grandparental legacy piece told through cinematic gold.
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Beyond art and activism, *Fairyland* glows with real-world resonance—Alysia’s coming-of-age during the early days of the AIDS crisis mirrors history’s softened wounds reanimated with grace, grief, and a promise to remember.
McNairy’s Steve is both a father and a fragile icon, while Jones brings both defiance and innocence, capturing the way kids hold wonder in one hand and history’s weight in the other.
And though the film rests in elsewhen, its echo feels present: chosen family, queer legacy, and the courage of recollection are as urgent today as ever.
Need another queer film that honors memory and artful resilience? Here’s one more warm cinematic whisper for your reading list: You may like: ‘Enzo’ Pairs a Rebellious Teen with a Rugged Mason
Watch the trailer, pack your tissues, and let *Fairyland* remind you that the gentlest truths sometimes have the most revolutionary power.