A hopeful gem from Sundance presented at the Atlanta Film Festival en route to a fall 2026 wider release, If I Go Will They Miss Me (B), directed by Walter Thompson-Hernández, is a lyrical look at the hopes, dreams and interconnectedness of parents and their progeny. Bodhi Dell gives an authentic performance as the film’s young protagonist, a dreamer in a Los Angeles neighborhood who idolizes his recently incarcerated father, a well-meaning man now working on a horse farm, played by an effective J. Alphonse Nicholson. As a character balancing the needs of the two men in her life, Danielle Brooks is the film’s quiet and powerful center; she’s very believable in an understated role. Unlike many other post-prison dramas before it, this film explores the re-entry into domestic and emotional life rather than becoming involved in crime or tragedy. Myles Bullock delivers meaningful dialogue about parenthood to add to the “works in progress” of the film’s central trio. There’s not a lot of story here; it’s more a tone poem with occasional flashes of myth, legend and spirituality. The visual composition is consistently striking and sometimes quite remarkable; snippets of animation sketches are also a delight. The movie’s final act features the strongest sustaining passages as the viewers have lived with and gotten to know all of these noble characters and even alter egos evocative of Odysseus and Pegasus. Ultimately it’s a lovely portrait of a family trying to make its way despite hurdles and heartbreaks, punctuated with flights of fancy. One single wrong turn for any of these characters can cause irrevocable damage. And one small action can change lives. The film is a touching, sentimental winner.