‘Omaha’ director talks new indie drama
Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment
Even after years directing a wealth of commercials — some even for the Super Bowl — and short films, Cole Webley’s approach to his debut feature, “Omaha,” was most influenced by his experiences as a father.
“This story in particular is a story of a father and the depths of which he loves his children and the struggle of not being able to provide them what they need … that's what parents struggle with every day,” Webley told The Panther. “How do we give our kids what they need? Is love enough from a father? What if they could just offer that? What does that look like? What should they do? The film doesn't pose any answers to that, but it does dive into some of those questions.”
First debuting at the famed Sundance Film Festival in 2025, “Omaha” follows a young girl named Ella (Molly Belle Wright) who wakes up one morning to find her father (John Magaro) in a bit of a frenzy. He corrals his two children and their dog and gets them in the car for a road trip. But as they pack up their lives and head off on a trip with an unknown destination, it becomes clear that they won’t be returning home. The film takes place largely from the vantage point of her and her brother (Wyatt Solis) as that uncertainty lingers and the cracks in their father’s facade become visible.
Webley first encountered the script when he met fellow filmmaker and Sundance alum, Robert Machoian, who wrote what would become the film over a decade ago. Machoian created it as a father of six children, and Webley connected with it as a father of four.
“When I read it off the page it was so emotionally impactful that I immediately saw the family … my intellect was being informed by my emotion and that's where I felt that coalescing of all the things I had learned about the craft of filmmaking was really set into motion because here was this succinct story … that I could lead with my heart,” Webley said.
Despite the relatively small scope of the story, it posed several unique challenges. Working around both of its main actors’ being children required shorter days, and difficulty arose in building the sense of a credible family dynamic in the condensed period of just under a month to shoot the film.
To play Molly, upon whose shoulders so much of the movie rests, Webley employed a traditional casting process, with many young actresses sending in tapes. He found a young English woman, Molly Belle Wright, to play the central American kid, who crucially gelled with her on-screen brother, Wyatt Solis.
Her performance has drawn both acclaim and awards, and Webley said Wright was a total professional who came prepared and knew her lines, but also dug deeper into her character. She was also game to do homework and watch films that Webley selected to inform her performance.
“Holistically, you know, kids are like everybody. They want to be talked to succinctly. They don't want to overthink things … Do it slower. Be louder. Be quieter. Don't get mad. Get a little happier, you know, go crazy,” Webley said.
Just as crucial in the on-screen family is the occupant of the metaphorical and literal driver’s seat of the narrative, Molly’s father, played by John Magaro, who many may know from “The Big Short” or as the husband in a highly unconventional love triangle in “Past Lives.”
Webley got the script to Magaro through some friends of his, who vouched for Webley as a filmmaker. Webley himself credits Machoian’s script for speaking to Magaro to the degree that he joined the project to play a character, who funnily enough, has very little to say, a quality that Magaro found appealing. Webley said that Magaro functioned as a kind of “co-director,” helping to reset a scene with his young cast members and help navigate bumps in the road.
Premiering at Sundance is a dream come true for any filmmaker, but it was an even more significant achievement for Webley to have “Omaha” there as a Utah native. Since the film’s premiere in January 2025, it has screened at nearly 50 film festivals across the country and internationally.
It’s been quite the ride for both Webley and his trio of actors. Webley noted how nice it has been for him to watch Wright and Solis get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, but also see the product of what was an unconventional summer camp for them.
“It's been a great ride. I often will just fantasize about 20 years down the road just getting to have lunch with Wyatt (Solis) and Molly (Belle Wright) and seeing how they've grown up as humans and individuals. I feel lucky like I'm a de facto uncle or something because I got to immortalize one summer of their lives and put it on camera,” Webley said. “They’re not those characters, but there's the essence of them right there in that film that will stay forever.”
“Omaha” is currently in limited release, but will be expanding over the next several weeks. Showtimes can be found here.
