Sam Esmail, the director of the Netflix post-apocalyptic film Leave the World Behind, spoke to Deadline Wednesday night on the red carpet at the film’s AFI premiere.
Leave the World Behind, which starts streaming Dec. 8, stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la and Kevin Bacon in a thriller based on a novel by Rumaan Alam.
In the film, a family’s vacation is upended when two strangers arrive at night, seeking refuge from a cyberattack that grows more terrifying by the minute, forcing everyone to come to terms with their places in a collapsing world.
Getting a great review from Esmail on their Leave the World Behind work were Barack and Michelle Obama, who produced the film for Netflix. “They worked from top to bottom on this movie, from crafts to production to post,” Esmail said. “And, you know, look, it’s a dream working with these guys.
Read more on deadline.com