Lost Soulz
{{Infobox film
| name = Lost Soulz
| image = Lost Soulz.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Poster
| director = Katherine Propper
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Andres Figueredo Thomson
- Juan Carlos Figueredo Thomson
}}
| writer = Katherine Propper
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Sauve Sidle
- Aaron Melloul
- Krystall Poppin
}}
| cinematography = Donald R. Monroe
| music = {{Plainlist|
- Jonathan "Zig" Zighelboim (songs)
- Malachi Mabson (songs)
- Shawn Sutta (score)
- Adam Robl (score)
}}
| editing = Isaac Burns
| distributor = Kino Lorber
| released = {{Film date|2023|6|11|Tribeca|2024|5|3|United States}}
| runtime = 95 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Lost Soulz is a 2023 American drama film written and directed by Katherine Propper in her directorial debut. It was released on May 3, 2024, by Kino Lorber.{{cite web|url=https://www.roxycinemanewyork.com/stories/lost-soulz/|title=Lost Soulz Debuts at the Roxy|website=Roxy Cinema|date=April 29, 2024|accessdate=March 24, 2025}}
Plot
When aspiring rapper Sol is discovered by a group of gen-Z musicians at a party, he joins their tour through the heart of Texas and embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
As Sol and the band head out West, they bond over their shared pains and longings from the lives they left behind. Vibrant and bold, yet sensitive and vulnerable, these musicians pour their souls into the music they create together.
The novelty of Sol’s newfound family fades as the demons Sol left behind come back to haunt him, including his guilt over abandoning his ailing friend, Wesley. His sense of self is put to the ultimate test as he seeks refuge from the rootlessness and loss that has defined his existence.
Cast
- Sauve Sidle as Sol
- Aaron Melloul as Seven
- Krystall Poppin as Nina
- Micro TDH as Froggy
- Alex Brackney as Mao
- Malachi Mabson as Kai
- Tauran Ambroise as Big Loko
- Siyanda "Yung Bambi" Stillwell as Wesley
Production
= Development =
While attending graduate school at the University of Texas Austin, Katherine Propper met aspiring rapper Sauve Sidle off of Craigslist while casting a school project in 2016.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-09 |title=Lost Soulz: How I Found a Cast of SoundCloud Rappers for My Feature Debut, by Katherine Propper |url=https://www.moviemaker.com/lost-soulz-katherine-propper/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=www.moviemaker.com |language=en-US}} They collaborated again when Sidle acted as the lead in Propper's short film "Street Flame," which went on to screen at the Tribeca Film Festival.{{Cite web |title=Short Form, No Limits: Here are Tribeca's 2019 Short Film Selections |url=https://www.tribecafilm.com/news/tribeca-shorts-2019 |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Tribeca}} In 2018, Sidle moved to Los Angeles on a whim to pursue his music career. He traveled with his new friend Juice Wrld on a genre-defining world tour and joined a music collective with rapper Lil Mosey.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-03 |title=Lost Soulz Director Katherine Propper Talks Her Hip-Hop Road Movie (INTERVIEW) |url=https://fandomwire.com/lost-soulz-director-katherine-propper-talks-her-hip-hop-road-movie-interview/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=fandomwire.com |language=en-US}} Some of Sidle's experiences being an indie rapper and going on tour inspired the screenplay of Lost Soulz.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-03 |title=Lost Soulz Director Katherine Propper Talks Her Hip-Hop Road Movie (INTERVIEW) |url=https://fandomwire.com/lost-soulz-director-katherine-propper-talks-her-hip-hop-road-movie-interview/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=fandomwire.com |language=en-US}}
= Filming =
Release
Lost Soulz had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in the U.S. Narrative Competition on June 11, 2023,{{cite web|url=https://tribecafilm.com/films/lost-soulz-2023|title=Lost Soulz World Premiere|website=Tribeca Film Festival|accessdate=March 23, 2025}} winning the runner-up Audience Award.{{cite web |last1=Toma |first1=Audriana |title=Announcing the 2023 Audience Award Winners |url=https://tribecafilm.com/news/announcing-the-2023-audience-award-winners |website=Tribeca Film |publisher=Tribeca Film |access-date=24 March 2025 |date=June 18, 2023}} It screened internationally at Raindance in the United Kingdom, Tallinn Black Nights{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLvvQKv9-pI |title=Lost Soulz Trailer {{!}} JF Youth Programme |date=2023-10-03 |last=PÖFF {{!}} Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival |access-date=2025-04-24 |via=YouTube}} in Estonia, Gijón International Film Festival in Spain, among others.{{Cite web |title=ENFANTS TERRIBLES: AN APPRENTICESHIP IN CINEMA {{!}} Gijon International Film Festival |url=https://ficx.tv/en/enfants-terribles-an-apprenticeship-in-cinema/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=ficx.tv}}
Distributor Kino Lorber acquired North American rights.{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/kino-lorber-acquires-katherine-proppers-tribeca-entry-lost-soulz-exclusive/5187042.article|title=
Kino Lorber acquires Katherine Propper’s Tribeca entry ‘Lost Soulz’|website=Screen Daily|date=October 19, 2023|accessdate=March 24, 2025}}
Reception
Lost Soulz received positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 89% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews. {{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lost_soulz|title=Lost Soulz (2024)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|accessdate=March 24, 2025}}
Sergio Burstein of Los Angeles Times wrote, "the overall impression is extremely positive, marked by a succession of great performances(no one is out of place) and by an incidental soundtrack that is created on the fly, before our eyes and ears." {{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/espanol/entretenimiento/articulo/2024-05-02/criticas-ryan-gosling-desafia-a-la-muerte-a24-retoma-la-ruta-del-miedo-y-otros-estrenos-en-los-cines|title=CRÍTICAS. Ryan Gosling desafía a la muerte, A24 retoma la ruta del miedo y otros estrenos en los cines|website=LA Times|date=May 2, 2024}}
Ross McIndoe of Slant praised the film as a "movie driven by good vibrations and the joy of making music." He describes, "That’s really what Lost Soulz is about—an attempt to capture the moment even as it’s escaping you. Graffiti is a recurring motif, with the crew doodling on almost every unattended surface they come across. A bit of color splashed on to the world to simply say, “I was here.”" {{cite web |last1=McIndoe |first1=Ross |title=Lost Soulz Review: Katherine Propper’s Joyful, Rap-Infused Road-Trip Movie |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/lost-soulz-katherine-propper/ |website=Slant}}
...Late in the film, we hear a Biblical quotation—“One generation passes away, and another comes…The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose”—that the whole group already knows in their bones by that point. This sun-dappled part of their lives can’t last forever." {{cite web |last1=McIndoe |first1=Ross |title=Lost Soulz Review: Katherine Propper’s Joyful, Rap-Infused Road-Trip Movie |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/lost-soulz-katherine-propper/ |website=Slant}}
Writing for IndieWire, Christian Zilko wrote effusively about the film's fresh take on a universal tale, "Katherine Propper's directorial debut repackages age-old tropes about the euphoric joys of youth with a sleek aura of Gen-Z authenticity." {{Cite web |last=Zilko |first=Christian |date=2024-05-02 |title=‘Lost Soulz’ Review: A Rap Prodigy Ponders the Costs of Fame in a Sensitive, Cliched Coming-of-Age Story |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/lost-soulz-review-1234999375/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}} Zilko notes, "the merry band of hip-hop prodigies embrace their adventure with the kind of euphoric enthusiasm that only exists through the eyes of somebody seeing the world for the first time. Every little side quest and tangent, from taking photos in front of a Prada store to discussing cattle with elderly roadside farmers, is treated like a climactic adventure." {{Cite web |last=Zilko |first=Christian |date=2024-05-02 |title=‘Lost Soulz’ Review: A Rap Prodigy Ponders the Costs of Fame in a Sensitive, Cliched Coming-of-Age Story |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/lost-soulz-review-1234999375/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist}}
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:English-language drama films
Category:2023 directorial debut films
Category:2023 independent films
Category:Films about music and musicians
Category:American coming-of-age drama films
Category:English-language musical films
Category:2020s coming-of-age films
Category:Films set in Austin, Texas
Category:2020s drama road movies
Category:American drama road movies
Category:English-language independent films