Storytelling for the Screen: Showing of “The Weight” (2026)

The Weight (2026) is the debut feature from filmmaker Padraic McKinley. When Samuel (Ethan Hawke) is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal prison in Oregon, Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe) offers him a high-stakes proposition: smuggle gold out of a remote mine with a dangerous crew of prisoners in exchange for his freedom. But as the group journeys into the unforgiving wilderness, the real threat isn’t the terrain—it’s the betrayal and violence festering within their ranks. Surrounded by greed, suspicion, and danger, Samuel must risk everything to reunite with his daughter. Influenced by the introspective action cinema of the 1970s but set against a stark Depression-era landscape, The Weight explores the lengths one is willing to go for family and freedom.

Padraic McKinley (filmmaker) will join moderator Ross Melnick (Dick Wolf Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) for a post-screening discussion of The Weight.