The character of the father in Omaha, a drama set during the Great Recession of 2008, is much like many during that time who struggled against numerous obstacles, swallowed their pride, and made great sacrifices for their children. For those grieving after a family tragedy, when the recession’s devastating economic storm hit with little or no warning, one could only imagine just how far stretched one had to become to cope with such adversity. For many desperate fathers, the times tested the deepest roots of what fatherhood genuinely means.
A drama filmed in Utah, Omaha, a Sundance premiere directed by Cole Webley and penned by Sundance alum Robert Machoian, is a heart-rending film, catapulted by a finely contoured, understated screenplay and a harmonious ensemble of excellent performances across the board. Omaha exquisitely balances the emotional stakes the father (John Magaro) faces against the ebullient experiences of a road trip for his two children, Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and Charlie (Wyatt Solis). Often, the film is poetic in its realism, amplified by its location visuals (Paul Meyers as DP) and a score that tracks the emotional counterpoint perfectly (Christopher Bear).
The film opens one morning shortly after a family tragedy, as the father wakes the children, rushing them to gather up the things they definitely want to take for a road trip. At first, the kids seem delighted about this spontaneous adventure. The kids are not sure where they are going but in between bits of play and escapism. Ella, the older child, is gradually piecing the puzzle about what her father is thinking to do but she is still uncertain what it possibly could be. Meanwhile, it is evident that the trip is proceeding on the barest of means. It takes several tries to get the car started. Trying to budget his scarce funds as best as he can, the father sacrifices his needs for the sake of the two children.

In an interview with The Utah Review, Webley explained that for his first feature-length project, he was searching for a screenplay that reflected everything he loved about movies and true sentiments about love, hope,,compassion and joy. When Machoian’s screenplay came to his attention, he immediately recalled how much he had enjoyed The Killing of Two Lovers, a film that Machoian directed and which premiered at Sundance five years ago. As The Utah Review noted at the time, Machoian’s film is “a superbly crafted, beautifully filmed story about how the difficulties of asking for space to sort things out in a marriage are magnified enormously in a town as small as the one the director chose for the film’s production.”
Webley recalled, “I was shocked to find out that Robert [Machoian] lived and worked in Utah.” As a father who has not experienced the simultaneous gut punch of poverty and grief as the character in the film, Webley said while reading the screenplay, he thought about fatherhood in its deepest context, how we unconditionally love our children, and to what extent would we go to protect and ensure the welfare of our children.
Webley and Machoian took the leap of faith in collaborating and the film demonstrates how harmoniously synchronized this creative enterprise became. There are subtle connections in the principal male characters of The Killing of Two Lovers and Omaha. In The Killing of Two Lovers, David, who clearly loved his family and his four children, grew more impatient, eventually worrying if the man his wife, Nikki, was seeing threatened to end the marriage for good. David had acquiesced reluctantly to his wife’s request for space but he could not bear just having periodic scheduled visits with his children during the separation. Machoian accomplished this with an impressive, understated, elegant choice of mise-en-scène, which gave the viewer the utter irony of the notion of asking for space in a small central Utah town set against an impressive mountain range.

In Omaha, where the spaciousness of territory is far greater, there is no denying how much the father loves his two children. Webley, who filmed nearly the entire feature in locations spread in five counties around Utah, creates a wonderful parallel, as the father and children make their way from Nevada to Omaha. As they near their final destination, the viewer notices the nuanced shifts in the father’s body language, eye and face contact and his reticence. He barely says more than a few words at a time. One notices the deepening burden simmering inside him but he also is doing every possible thing to give his children some joy and fun during the trip.
Magaro’s performance is magnificent, in its emotional restraint and dramatic control. There are many small instances of foreshadowing that astute viewers will gradually piece together, heightening the dramatic tension without it interrupting the rhythm of this trip, as they proceed along the I-80 corridor.
Webley’s direction with the two young actors, who portray characters that are of their same respective ages, is wise. The chemistry is natural and sincere. The children revel in flying a kite on the Bonneville Salt Flats, visiting the zoo or swimming in a motel pool. As Webley noted, the story also has a coming-of-age angle, as Ella, who is about to turn ten, is observing her father very closely. Her body language is just as prominent: watching her father count carefully the cash out at the store register, helping him start up a car that hasn’t had a tune-up in ages, forgoing food, etc. In effect, Ella is the on-screen stand-in for the audience and she carries the responsibility of the storyline throughout the film. Webley’s praise for Wright’s performance as Ella is as effusive as the kudos for Magaro.
“I was resolute on the child actors being the same age as the characters,” Webley said. He knew the challenges of maintaining tight schedules for such young actors and arranging shooting during their summer breaks from school. Likewise, the film industry strikes required schedule changes, which made things more challenging.
Recognizing it was inadvisable to micromanage the boy’s performance, Webley praised Solis, adding that he appreciated how much Magaro guided so many scenes in the film in establishing the camaraderie with both kids.

Omaha’s reception at Sundance has been vigorously l positive. Like Webley, a little more than four of our every ten feature-length films selected this year came from directors making their debut in this format. Barely 2% of the total feature-length submissions were accepted this year.
Omaha epitomizes the strengths of Utah’s film industry, which include the creative strengths of an expanding professional community in film production and the reciprocating benefits of Utah’s various motion picture incentives that have spread benefits in urban amd rural areas throughout the state.
In scouting locations for production, Webley made the road trip on the I-80 corridor, which crossed from southwest Nevada and moved eastward in Utah, Wyoming and eventually Nebraska. Some 90% of the film was shot in Utah, on locations in Salt Lake, Tooele, Carbon, Juab and Weber counties. Likewise, many of the production crew heralds from Utah. Omaha precisely captures the best essence of independent filmmaking that is celebrated at Sundance.
For festival tickets and more information, see the Sundance website.