Aaron Paul and Karen Gillan appear in DUAL by Riley Stearns, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Aaron Paul and Karen Gillan in DUAL. Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Dropbox for filmmakers, Sundance Film Festival 2022

Director Riley Stearns on staying inspired in isolation and asking “What if?”

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Published on January 28, 2022

“We ended up being the first film for the United States to shoot fully in Finland ever. The locations ended up giving so much to the feeling of the movie.” 

Riley Stearns, director of DUAL, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Riley Stearns, director of DUAL, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

“What happens is, you have this idea, then you say, ‘What if….?’”

“When we got to Finland, everything was in person. But leading up to it, we were Dropbox-ing all of our locations before I even got to visit.”