Kate Beecroft spent three years living among her film's real-life protagonists in South Dakota's Badlands to make her feature film debut, East of Wall. Not a traditional true story, it blurs the line between fiction and documentary. It's a narrative feature film that uses real people playing versions of themselves, filmed in their real environment and often based on their actual experiences. The director of the film, Kate Beecroft, lived with the real-life subjects — Tabatha Zimiga and her daughter Porshia — for several years before making the movie. So while the storyline itself is scripted and dramatized, it’s rooted in the real lives, struggles, and surroundings of its non-professional actors.

The film stars Tabatha Zimiga, a young, tattooed horse trainer, and her daughter Porshia — who both are playing themselves —- along with Scott McNairy and Jennifer Ehle. After the sudden death of Tabatha’s husband, she's left supporting her mother and a group of neighborhood teens on her broken-down ranch. As financial burdens and emotional grief mount, an outsider (McNairy) offers to purchase the ranch, forcing Tabitha to choose between stability and the freedom she has created for herself, her daughter and the teens that reside on the ranch.

Having premiered at Sundance 2025 in the NEXT category, where it won the Audience Award, the film blends authentic performance with cinematic storytelling. ~Erin Grace