CINEJOY FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Director Hariharasudhen Nagarajan’s Tether follows two men whose lives are unknowingly steered toward the same emotional collision point, even as each tries to claw his way back to something resembling stability. The closer they get, the more painful the journey becomes.
Leonard Miller (Nick Giedris) is barely functioning as a human being after his teenage daughter Paula (Sophia Dawson) is killed in a high school shooting. His marriage to Amanda (Joanna Cretella) has fallen apart. Divorced, Leonard is reduced to watching old home videos of the family he once had, in a futile attempt to feel normal again. His only goal in life is to repair his marriage with Amanda.
On the other side of town is Gerald Gaines (Ben Burton), a former school resource officer assigned to protect the school that Leonard’s daughter attended. When the shooting erupted, Gerald froze. Now he lives with an intense form of survivor’s guilt. And if the guilt wasn’t bad enough, Gerald is reviled in his community. He can’t be in public without being recognized and reminded of who he is—and what he didn’t do.
Trying to reconcile, Leonard decides to see a therapist, Bradbury (Laura Faye Smith), hoping to talk through the death of his daughter and the rage he feels. Coincidentally, under a court order, Gerald is also seeing Bradbury to figure out what comes next. It’s only a matter of time before Leonard and Gerald cross paths.
Leonard (Nick Giedris) and Gerald (Ben Burton) face the weight of their shared tragedy in Tether.
“…two men whose lives are unknowingly steered toward the same emotional collision point…”
For director Hariharasudhen Nagarajan, Tether was born from the tragic events of Parkland and the Pulse Nightclub. The news hit like a “gut punch,” leaving survivors and families to live in the wreckage as the rest of the world is horrified and then “moves on.” Tether locks onto the aftermath of violence and takes a hard, honest look at the families and players left in its wake.
As the film’s leads, Nick Giedris and Ben Burton deliver very dark, emotional performances. I’m particularly drawn to Burton’s Gerald. It would be easy to paint him as the villain of the film. He is a man reviled and abandoned by his friends, co-workers, and even his own family… and he is about to abandon himself. What would you do? Do you find sympathy, or do you say, “Good riddance?”
Written by Anghus Houvouras, Tether is like watching our protagonists, wind-up toys hurtling toward a cliff, then letting them go as they reach the edge. Houvouras asks us some important questions. To me, the most important one is: what do we do with the most broken people in our society? And let’s not forget the other one—what do we do as a community to stem gun violence and prevent people like Leonard and Gerald from becoming the next perpetrator or victim?
Tether will be streaming online as part of Cinejoy Viewers Voice Festival between February 12-18, 2026.
"…It would be easy to paint him as the villain of the film."
