Twelve-year-old Lil Ant transforms his working-class neighborhood beneath the LAX flight path into a living mythology, where family members become gods and the sky is crowded with endless departures. As he searches for connection with his god-like yet conflicted father, he finds support in his close-knit community that helps him reconcile myth and reality.

“Its keen mix of magical-realist visual language, drawn from those neo-realist tools, offers an eloquent vision of Blackness. Thompson-Hernández carefully places us within this Black family with Burnett-level honesty.” (Robert Daniels, www.RogerEgbert.com)

“Thompson-Hernández makes no secret of his influences with loving nods to Charles Burnett and Spike Lee…” (Stephen Saito, The Moveable Fest)

Walter Thompson-Hernández, born in Los Angeles/USA, is a writer-director and Sundance Lab alum. He began his career at “The New York Times”, where he authored the award-winning book “The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America’s Heartland”, which is currently being adapted into a film. IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME is based on his Sundance-winning short film with the same title. He is currently in production on his third narrative feature, SPACESHIPS, set in Barcelona/Spain.

Filmography: 2022 IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME (short film), 2025 UNTOLD: SHOOTING GUARDS (documentary); KITES, 2026 IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME

Awards (selection): Best Film (Deauville Film Festival, France 2026), Best Actress for Danielle Brooks (Las Palmas Film Festival, Spain 2026), Best Film (Fort Myers Film Festival, USA 2026)