James Franco appears opposite Rob Lowe in ‘Confession’ trailer

First look at a prison drama

James Franco plays an interrogator opposite Rob Lowe in the trailer for ‘Confession,’ a historical drama from The Daily Wire unveiled on October 13. ComingSoon reported that Czech filmmaker Václav Marhoul directed the film from a screenplay by Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro. The preview places the two actors on opposite sides of an interrogation in Stalinist Moscow. ^[3]

The story is set in 1938. Lowe’s character, Alexei, is a former literature professor arrested and taken to Lubyanka Prison, where he encounters Vladimir, a former student played by Franco. According to World of Reel’s account, the confrontation drives the prison drama. Those details describe the film’s fictional narrative, rather than a documentary account of the actors or a new historical finding. ^[1]

Festival and release plans

The film is scheduled to premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival on October 15, World of Reel reported. Festival Planner lists a screening that evening at Kinoteka, followed by showings on October 16 and 18. Awards Daily’s trailer coverage identifies a cast that also includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nick Nolte and Emile Hirsch. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

Awards Daily’s October 13 trailer coverage also identified Lowe, Franco and Shapiro’s involvement and listed November 11 as the release date. World of Reel described a one-night presentation in 100 US theaters on that date alongside availability on DailyWire+. The announced plan therefore separates the festival debut in Poland from the later American theatrical and streaming release. ^{[2] [1]}

The production was shot on 35mm film at Santa Clarita Studios, World of Reel reported, with the prison setting used for a concentrated, single-location approach. That production choice supplies context for the trailer’s enclosed setting and the emphasis on the professor’s confrontation with his interrogator, ahead of the first festival screening. ^[1]