Spotlights feature conversations with high-profile film and television industry professionals who share helpful advice and insights on their career experiences and creative process. You do not need to have seen the work to participate.

This exclusive Spotlight features James Sweeney, the writer, director, and star of the dark comedy film Twinless. The film premiered to wide acclaim at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and Special Jury Award for Acting.

In Twinless, two young men meet in a twin support group and form an unlikely friendship. Roman (Dylan O'Brien) and Dennis (Sweeney) both search for solace and an identity without their other halves and soon become inseparable outside the group. But when Roman meets Dennis’ ebullient co-worker, Marcie (Aisling Franciosi), all is revealed to be not what it seems, as each man harbors secrets that could unravel everything.

In this session, Sweeney discusses working as a multi-hyphenate, finding the right tone when writing across multiple genres, and the challenges of making the second feature.