Remake Trailer: Ross McElwee Creates the Most Tear-Jerking Documentary of 2026

      Best known for his groundbreaking reflexive documentary Sherman’s March, Ross McElwee has created his most poignant and personal film to date with Remake. This film is partially centered around McElwee's experience when a production company seeks to adapt Sherman’s March, but its true essence gradually unfolds: it serves as a tribute to the director’s son and a moment of self-reflection as McElwee contemplates his influence on his son’s journey. It is a raw and heartfelt work that will shatter any parent's heart into countless pieces.

      In advance of a theatrical release on July 10 from Music Box Films, the distributor will also present a new 4K restoration of his Sundance-winning film Sherman’s March starting a week earlier on July 3. With screenings kicking off at NYC’s Film Forum, trailers and posters for both releases have been revealed.

      Here is the synopsis: "In Remake, filmmaker Ross McElwee focuses on the passage of time and the challenging space between capturing life on film and truly understanding it. The film explores McElwee’s relationship with his son Adrian, highlighting the delicate connection that the camera established between them during Adrian's life and now in his absence. Utilizing decades of footage, some filmed by Ross and some by Adrian, the film presents a rich exploration of memory and the act of creating images. Interwoven is the specter of another project: an unfulfilled attempt by Hollywood to fictionalize McElwee’s 1986 classic, Sherman’s March. This results in a work defined by loss and driven by the desire to keep searching, even when there’s no straightforward narrative to convey."

      Take a look at the trailer and poster below.

      Here’s the synopsis for Sherman’s March: "Equipped with a 16mm camera and a grant to document the enduring impact of William Tecumseh Sherman’s 1864 march to the sea, Ross McElwee finds himself sidetracked. Following a breakup with his girlfriend, Ross redirects his focus from history to his personal life, exploring the modern battlefield of love, and sets out on a sociological journey that captures the dating customs and practices of the New South. This film offers a generous and humanistic portrayal of the exceptional women Ross encounters along the way, depicting its characters with novelistic depth: Pat, an aspiring actress with a fondness for Burt Reynolds; Claudia, a roller-skating interior designer; Jackie, the activist whose anti-nuclear campaigns resonate with Ross’s deepest anxieties; and above all, Charleen Swansea, Ross’s mentor and a one-woman Greek chorus providing unsolicited romantic advice. A landmark in first-person filmmaking that paved the way for everything from Michael Moore to reality television, Sherman’s March will soon be released in a new 4K restoration."

      Check out the trailer and poster below.