Slamdance Film Festival 2026 Review: “BRB”

By Morgan Roberts

Director: Kate Cobb
Writers: Sydney Blackburn and Michael Waller
Stars: Autumn Best, Zoe Colletti, Beth Lacke, Keith Kupferer, Richard David, Dan Haller, Cristian Lager
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2026

In Kate Cobb’s latest feature, “BRB,” is a nostalgic sisters roadtrip film filled with hilarity and heart. Dylan (Zoe Colletti) and Sam (Autumn Best) are left home alone when their parents (Beth Lacke and Keith Kupferer) go on vacation in an apparent effort to save their marriage, the two teens embark on a multi-state roadtrip for two wildly different reasons. Sam is a fifteen-year-old whose closest friends are the ones made in chatrooms dedicated to her favorite television show. When she admits to Dylan she has a crush on one of the other members in her fandom, her older sister convinces her to drive to meet her crush. Dylan herself does have ulterior motives as she has recently been broken up with by her musician boyfriend.

There is something particularly sentimental about the early days of chatrooms and internet fandoms. There is an innocence at this burgeoning of the internet. And it pairs perfectly with the roadtrip film. There are plenty of films in the genre all ranging in execution. “BRB” understands the perfect balance of roadtrip antics with important relationship building between the sisters. I find sibling dynamics truly interesting. I know my relationship with my sibling is one of the most imperative in my life. For many, your sibling (or siblings) is the only person who truly understands how your upbringing shaped you.

What “BRB” also does expertly is have throughly explored conversations. Sam, for instance, has body image issues which find themselves peppered throughout the film until it becomes more difficult to ignore. There are conversations about Dylan’s relationship with alcohol - fairly common for U.S. teens. Topics such as these, in lesser hands, would become either flippant and thrown in to have a half-baked conversation or appear after-school special-y. Instead, “BRB” finds the perfect balance of seriously tackling these through-lines without feeling preachy or judgmental. These, and other plot points, feel organic. I also really appreciate the inclusion of Sam’s disability. Best, an actor with a limb difference, has used the opportunities throughout her career to discuss better disability representations in films. As someone who grew up in the mid-aughts, differences were exploited for laughs. I just think on how demonstrative it was to see girls, for example, treated so poorly - I mean, menstruation was mocked by boys and men in the cinema that was popular in my youth . And to think about the very few decorations of disability as a source for mean-spirited and cruel “humor,” being the only depictions I was seeing demonstrates not just how much more still needs to be done, but how revelatory it is for films like “BRB” to exist. The film includes truly thoughtful and honest conversations about disability - and again, doing so in a not patronizing way.

“BRB” may use common film genres - road trip and coming-of-age - for its foundation, at its core is a beautiful, honest and authentic story about two sisters at crossroads in their lives. I really wish I had had a film like “BRB” to bring to sleepovers in my youth. Its impeccable script, great cast, and tight editing makes the film a real standout.

Grade: A
Pair This Film With: “The Edge of Seventeen” (2017) dir. Kelly Fremon Craig; “Unpregnant” (2020) dir. Rachel Lee Goldberg