The Sweet East

Lillian, a teenager from South Carolina, loses her class on a school trip to Washington DC during a shooting at a bar. From there, she embarks on an Alice in Wonderland-like adventure to the darkest corners of contemporary America.

Before The Sweet East took the Cannes festival off guard this spring, Sean Price Williams was primarily known as a cinematographer to film buffs. Through photographic work on some independent American films, he has distinguished himself as a very exciting cinematographer. With his directorial debut, he further confirms this. The Sweet East tells the story of a nihilistic journey through the United States, where neither conservatives nor liberals are safe, and is packed with pitch-dark humor that masterfully takes the pace of a nation at breaking point.

«Shot in a way reminiscent of classic ’70s cinema while commenting on the woes of the contemporary, Williams builds a timely film that still feels timeless, an expansive chronicling of a slice of America ripe for many a rewatch.»
– Rafaela Sales Ross, The Playlist –

Director

Sean Price Williams (f. 1971) is an American cinematographer and director. He has worked as a cinematographer for several independent American filmmakers, among others the Safdie Brothers’ films Heaven Knows What (2014) and Good Time (2017), Alex Ross Perry’s films Queen of Earth (2015) and Her Smell (2018), and Abel Ferrara’s Zeros and Ones. The Sweet East is his debut as a director, and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.

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