Martin Scorsese Is a Big Fan of A24’s Recent Indie Horror Hit

Thanks to films like Civil War, MaXXXine, Love Lies Bleeding, and the recently released horror hit Heretic, it’s been a big year for A24, the indie distributor that’s long been known to deliver some of the finest movies around. Now, after winning a total of 18 Oscars earlier this year, they can add another accolade to their growing list, as renowned director Martin Scorsese recently had some high praise for director Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow.

Released back in May, Scorsese had nothing but good things to say of the movie in an interview with The Canadian Press, calling it “emotionally and psychologically powerful.” Starring Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow tells the tale of two friends who bond over their favorite show, The Pink Opaque. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age drama mixed with psychological horror that deals with themes of dysmorphia, transgender identity, and the loss of our childlike imagination that most of us shed as we get older. Now streaming on Max, Scorsese said he liked it “a great deal.”

“There was one film I liked a great deal I saw two weeks ago called I Saw the TV Glow. It really was emotionally and psychologically powerful and very moving. It builds on you, in a way. I didn’t know who made it. It’s this Jane Schoenbrun.”

When you take into consideration all its accolades and critical acclaim, it might come as a surprise for some to learn that I Saw the TV Glow is only Schoenbrun’s second feature film. Though they’ve been in the industry for more than a decade, it’s mostly been behind the scenes as a producer. They did direct the 2018 documentary A Self-Induced Hallucination, but it wasn’t until 2021’s We’re All Going to the World’s Fair that they first helmed a theatrical release.

Now they’re being praised by Scorsese, the director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Gangs of New York, and The Departed. That has to be a good feeling, right? You bet it is, and Schoenbrun wasn’t shy about expressing their excitement on X after they heard the good news. “I JUST GOT A FEVER AND LAID DOWN ON THE GROUND AND STARTED PANTING,” the director posted, clearly elated over Scorsese’s endorsement of I Saw the TV Glow. They followed it up with a more touching post, and what his words meant to them.

“I saw Marty speak about his cherished movie watching memories before a screening of BLACK NARCISSUS at @MoMAFilm earlier this year. Never have I ever felt more awed to be connected to a lineage, a tradition and a shared spiritual practice.”

I Saw the TV Glow’s Gut Punch of an Ending, Explained

I Saw the TV Glow is one of the best films of 2024, and the film’s shocking ending is filled with symbolism and deeper meanings.

We’d be excited, too, if we were in Schoenbrun’s shoes, but now the big question is: what comes next? Thankfully, we already have an answer. We’re all Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow are just two parts of what they call the “Screen Trilogy,” and the third and final entry will be their debut novel published by Random House, Public Access Afterworld. Originally written as a three-season TV series, the book is said to be “an epic blend of literary fantasy, coming-of-age, sci-fi, and horror.” Not the news film buffs want to hear, we’re sure, but for Schoenbrun, it’ll be the culmination of everything they’ve been building up to this point, and to that we say bravo! The world needs more daring creators like them, especially now, when everything is seemingly crashing down all around us.