Spotlight: NB Mager (Run Amok)
September 12, 2026
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Filmmaker Spotlight
Run Amok
NB Mager · USA · 103 min
What led you to creating Run Amok?
It’s very common to leave kids out of the conversation, even when the conversation impacts them directly. I wanted to make a film that gives young people a voice— a distinctive voice— and tell a story that allows them to challenge the status quo on how we deal with violence, trauma, and grief in our society.
My main character, Meg— and all the kids that join in her efforts to put on a show— there’s a strikingly uninhibited quality. They’re not trying to be polite or proper— they have a propulsive curiosity, and just an unbounded desire to understand— and to be heard and understood themselves.
It’s a film that I wanted to see myself, and so I made it.
They’re not trying to be polite or proper— they have a propulsive curiosity, and just an unbounded desire to understand— and to be heard and understood themselves.
What were some inspirations going into the creative process?
I was thinking about films that I love that also pose challenging social questions and rather than provide simple answers, they wrestle so creatively and beautifully with the issue they’re tackling.
Some specific films that inspired me were JoJo Rabbit, Parasite, Get Out, and Promising Young Woman.
Tell us what you hope the audience gets from Run Amok and why is a story like this important to tell?
I want this film to say: stay curious and kind.
Curious and kind for me is sort of the antidote to fear. And this film definitely came from a place of fear initially. My own fears around death and violence and loss.
My work is always a necessary and urgent outlet for me, for grappling with my fears, anxieties, things I don’t understand.
How did you become a filmmaker?
At first I pursued acting, and that’s what I ended up studying and pursuing professionally at first. Part of it was, I didn’t really know of women directors, which is why representation is so important. But the other part was— I think I recognized that I was very intellectual, very much in my head. So acting was an enormous challenge for me— just to be in my body. And I love challenges. I was really committed to studying the craft of acting— which is all about being in the moment, cultivating empathy and understanding for characters with your whole self.
So acting was my starting point, and then I started to study writing and then ultimately directing. I’m so glad I did that, because it absolutely informs who I am as a director now, and as I writer. It allows me to, I hope, give my actors what they need. Also, it also allows me to feel all of my collaborative directorial decisions in my body, viscerally— from production design to camera movement to editing to score.
| Film | Run Amok |
|---|---|
| Director | NB Mager |
| Section | Narrative Features |
| Runtime | 103 min |
| Screening | Thu 24 Sep, 7:05 pm |
