Round Top Film Festival 2026
Director Catherine Hardwicke has an incredible eye for realism, and her latest film, Street Smart, which screened at the 2026 Round Top Film Festival, showcases her talent. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, although “enjoyed” feels strange for a story that is often depressing, disturbing, and difficult to watch. Still, Hardwicke’s direction is wonderful, the cast is outstanding, and the characters are so richly developed that even when their lives take unpleasant turns, we want to know what happens next.
Isabelle Fuhrman stars as Ali, a young woman who escapes a troubled home life and ends up on Venice Beach, California, where she joins a group of homeless young people who have created a sort of family for themselves. They have dreams and aspirations, but little in the way of opportunities or stability. They depend on each other, though their relationships are often strained by their circumstances and the choices they make. When their makeshift community is threatened, things become even more complicated. Some hope to make it in the music business, but survival often takes precedence over dreams.
Hardwicke, who co-wrote the screenplay with Nic Sheff, has a gift for bringing complicated characters to life, and here she does it exceptionally well. I especially appreciated her use of different points of view, camera angles, and how effectively she uses the Venice Beach surroundings. At times, it feels as though we are right there among these kids, privy to their most intimate and sometimes disturbing moments. The characters are wonderfully rich, and the actors make them believable. Fuhrman, Yara Shahidi, Michael Cimino, and the rest of the cast give excellent performances. There are moments of tenderness and compassion mixed in with some truly ugly behavior, and while I didn’t always like the choices these characters made, I certainly found their stories engaging.
I did find myself questioning a few of the choices made in developing the characters. Like so many filmmakers these days, Hardwicke seems to want to check all the boxes when it comes to backgrounds, identities, and social issues. Certainly, the streets are filled with people from every walk of life, and I appreciate the effort to show that. I just wondered at times whether so many different issues needed to be represented within this one group. It is a relatively small complaint, however, and certainly doesn’t take away from the quality of the performances or the direction.
I have a bit of a personal connection to Hardwicke. We attended the same high school, and her sister, a talented artist, was one of my classmates. I’ve seen Hardwicke at other film festivals over the years, and I made a point of catching Street Smart at Round Top. I’ve long admired her work as a director, and this was one film I did not want to miss.
What I especially admire about Street Smart is Hardwicke’s ability to take us into a world most of us know little about and make the people living in it seem so real. There are some terribly sad moments and scenes that are difficult to watch. I can’t imagine anyone leaving this film feeling particularly cheerful, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth seeing. Quite the opposite. For all its bleakness, Street Smart held my attention from beginning to end. I found myself caring about these people, even when their choices made it awfully difficult to like them. It’s a troubling film, but one I am glad I saw.