Olivia Colman is a mother with a non-binary child and gay dad in new queer film
John Lithgow and Olivia Colman in the queer film, Jimpa. (Instagram/@jimpa_film)
John Lithgow and Olivia Colman in the queer film, Jimpa. (Instagram/@jimpa_film)
Olivia Colman’s queer film, Jimpa, has received some exciting updates regarding its release schedule.
The film stars the Oscar-winner as Hannah, a mother who accompanies her non-binary child, Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), from Adelaide to Amsterdam to see her gay dad, Jim/’Jimpa’ (John Lithgow).
Frances informs Hannah they wish to stay for longer than initially planned in the hopes of connecting with Amsterdam’s queer community. This leads Hannah to look back at her life as well as her relationships.
Jimpa premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January where it received mixed reviews. The Guardian praised Colman’s “astute” performance while also labelling the film, “muddled.” The Hollywood Reporter called it a “well-intentioned but numbingly earnest inter-generational queer family drama.”
The film is co-written and directed by the Australian director Sophie Hyde, who has based it on her own experiences with her family. Matthew Cormack also co-wrote the film. Hyde is also the parent of actor Aud Mason-Hyde, who is trans non-binary like their Jimpa character.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in January about playing a character based on her director, Colman said she felt “quite nervous.”
She continued: “I haven’t had that before. I felt quite nervous at the beginning, but very soon, Sophie just made you feel like you can’t go wrong. It’s your interpretation. It’s you doing it. And she just let me crack on with it, really.”
As reported by Screen Daily Hyde has said of her film, “Jimpa is a celebration of family and the wonderful, messy love of a group of people trying to do well by each other. It is a project that examines the stories we tell about our own lives, a love story to parenting and what we learn from our children and our families, and it’s made with a lot of love.”
Screen Daily also reports that Jimpa will be released in the UK and Ireland by Icon Film Distribution. Kino Lorber will reportedly handle distribution in North America.
Jimpa will premiere down under at the opening night of the Adelaide Film Festival on 15 October. It will be available in Australian cinemas from 19 February 2026.
No UK and US release dates exist.
