See Alia Shawkat in Funny Clip from the 'Incredibly Relevant' War Satire “Atropia” (Exclusive)
- - See Alia Shawkat in Funny Clip from the 'Incredibly Relevant' War Satire “Atropia” (Exclusive)
Jack SmartDecember 13, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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Atropia, starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner, is in theaters now, and PEOPLE has an exclusive clip
From writer-director Hailey Benton Gates, it follows a group of performers in a town designed as a warfare simulation to prepare U.S. soldiers
“To play an Iraqi struggling actress is right up my alley,” Shawkat says
Alia Shawkat is going to war — sort of — in her timely new comedy.
Atropia, from writer-director Hailey Benton Gates, stars Shawkat, 36, as Fayruz, an actress in the titular nation — except it’s not a real nation. Atropia is an immersive warfare simulation in the California desert designed to train U.S. soldiers before deployment.
When Shawkat’s Fayruz falls in love with Callum Turner’s veteran-turned-performer Abu Dice, according to a synopsis, “their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance. What unfolds is an audaciously funny satire that asks: In the performance of war, who are the winners and who are the losers?”
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Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner in "Atropia"
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“To play an Iraqi struggling actress is right up my alley,” Shawkat jokes to PEOPLE. “Fayruz is also so determined and bold. I loved living in her timing of comedy and physicality. We are one.”
A winner of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize, Atropia has earned raves for its slapstick humor and satirization of the American military.
“It’s a smart satire,” says Shawkat, “that is incredibly relevant to what is happening now in our world politically.”
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The Hollywood-fueled community training soldiers — based on the real-life “The Box” at the military base in Fort Irwin, California — is a “beautiful” world, she adds, “that deserves to be seen and somewhat understood.”
A clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE shows Fayruz trying to wheedle information out of a fellow Atropia performer, who hints at “movie people” coming to visit. “Movie movie? Or TV movie?” asks Shawkat’s eager character.
Tony Shawkat, father of the Search Party actress, also plays a key role in the movie. Joining them are costars Turner, Zahra Alzubaidi, Jane Levy, Tim Heidecker, Lola Kirke, Chloë Sevigny and more.
Working with the ensemble was “a real dream,” says Shawkat. “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner [than] Callum: a true old-fashioned movie star with an accessible heart. And the rest of the cast are so talented and were so game to come on this journey.”
Atropia is in select theaters now.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
