In a society constantly navigating how to best use artificial intelligence and other forms of technology, “DreamQuil” is a film that asks audiences to reconsider their own connection to what makes them human in this relatively new technological world. The film, written and directed by Alex Prager, premiered at the SXSW Film & TV Festival earlier this week and was produced by Alison Small, a WashU alumna.

In Prager’s retrofuturistic world, Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games,” “Pitch Perfect”) stars as Carol, a mother and aspiring real estate partner struggling to connect with her husband and son. In an attempt to be happier, she decides to go on a virtual retreat that will help her reconnect with her family and feel a higher level of satisfaction with her life. After undergoing the “DreamQuil” treatment, Carol returns home to find that she has been replaced by an AI robot who is identical to her in image and likeness.

Prager is known for her eerie and unsettling photos that prioritize a careful consideration of mise-en-scéne and vibrant colors. Her art combines this vision with the aesthetics of Hollywood’s Golden Age. “DreamQuil” is one of Prager’s photos come to life.

“I think what is really special about this movie is that it really transports you to a totally unique, almost surreal at times world … And so it’s kind of just about immersing yourself in a world that lets you have some introspection into what your own personal relationship with technology is,” Small said.

Small graduated from WashU in 2004 with a BA in Film and Media Studies. Now she is the head of film at Brownstone Productions, co-founded by Banks and Max Handelman. At Brownstone, Small executive produced “Cocaine Bear” and produced “Bottoms,” which premiered at SXSW in 2023.

“I think South by is the perfect festival for ‘DreamQuil.’ South by audiences just kind of get movies that are unique and original and boundary pushing,” Small said.

“DreamQuil” explores the dangers of automation as it pertains to the slow loss of the traits that make humanity distinct from technology. 

“There were constantly things in the news that I would send [Prager] and definitely contributed to, oh my god, we have to get this movie made soon, because it feels like it’s becoming a reality,” she said.

As a producer, Small works on multiple projects at once. The crux of being a producer is seeing that the vision for each film is realized from its conception to its premiere at a festival like SXSW and onwards to its proper release. In deciding which projects to produce, a key factor Small thinks about when saying “yes” depends on the person involved in the project, namely the director and/or writer of the film. At the same time, Small weighs the quality of the story and its characters against the many possible obstacles that would emerge during production.

“And then, from there,” Small asks herself: “is this, something that I actually love enough that I want to spend anywhere from two to six or seven years trying to get made and then making?” she said.

Prager pitched “DreamQuil” to Brownstone in 2020 and wrote the script shortly after that. According to Small, production began a few years later and now, six years later, finally premiered.

“Alex Prager is a phenomenally talented visual artist, and she actually came to us early on the process with just the kernel of an idea for ‘DreamQuill.’ And so honestly, it really was Alex as a filmmaker that drew us to the project,” Small said. “She is so creative. Her work is so original, and it has sort of a depth to it in terms of theme, even in her photography.”

Prager has directed various short films in the past for a collection of brands and magazines. “DreamQuil,” however, is her first feature-length film. In an industry saturated with sequels, adaptations, and incumbent directors, Small explains debuts like Prager’s are becoming increasingly rare. 

“I think that there’s something sort of just inspiring about the story of someone who had this idea and had never made a movie before, I don’t even think written the script before, and then did it. I think for everyone who wants to make movies and be involved in the entertainment industry it’s always really cool to see stories like that,” Small said.

Small’s main involvement on campus was with WUTV where her role as a producer first began. She was the general manager of WUTV, overseeing productions including “Wake Up WashU,” and hosted and executive produced “Missionary Positions,” a show where a live audience could ask their most pressing sex-related questions to a panel of hosts composed of the Hillel Rabbi, the Catholic Student Center’s reverend, and the priest for the Episcopal Campus Ministry. At the time, WUTV had a closed-circuit channel that students could access through their dorm room feeds to view both programs.

“It’s a completely different scale in Hollywood. But it’s also very similar. I definitely learned, too, that you have to really love what you’re doing, because it takes a lot of work,” Small said about her time at WUTV. Small also occasionally wrote for Student Life, publishing a review of “Don’t Say a Word.”

She described her current job as an entrepreneurial endeavor. “At WUTV it was the same thing,” she said. “I mean, there was no one telling us we had to do this. We were doing it because we love doing it. And so I think it really fostered a love of entertainment.”

Since then, Small has carried that passion through her career and into her work on films like “DreamQuil.” Small hopes the film forces audiences to reflect on the dangers of modern technology and the importance of our humanity. The multiple ways audiences can and will interpret “DreamQuil” is what Small loves most about films.

“I think that one of the things I love about movies is that everyone has their own sort of interpretation, and everyone takes something different away from something and it may not even be exactly what the director intended,” she said.

“DreamQuil” premiered at SXSW 2026. The film is currently seeking nation-wide distribution.