Fairyland

Play trailer

1:58

Fairyland

R

Oct 2025

1h 56m

Drama

LGBTQ+

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Produced by Oscar® winner Sofia Coppola (Writing, Original Screenplay, Lost in Translation, 2003) and based on the acclaimed memoir of the same name by Alysia Abbott, Fairyland is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of San Francisco's vibrant cultural scene in the 1970s and '80s. This captivating film chronicles a father and daughter relationship as it evolves through an era of bohemian decadence to the sober and heartbreaking era of the AIDS crisis.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Drawing on one family's real-life experiences, the powerfully acted Fairyland pays poignant tribute to love and resilience in the face of adversity and tragedy.

Read Critics Reviews

Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

The performances from McNairy, Nessa Dougherty as a young Alysia and Emilia Jones as a teen/adult Alysia capture her aches and longing.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 17, 2025

Full Review

G. Allen Johnson

San Francisco Chronicle

Durham’s direction is sensitive and assured, and he does a great job mixing his location work with archival footage to create an authentic sense of what San Francisco was like during those times.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 14, 2025

Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

This is an honest, real movie about people living big lives during tumultuous times, and coming through it damaged but wiser.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 10, 2025

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

Writer and director Andrew Durham in his feature film debut is off to a terrific start. A lot of filmmakers lay it on too thick when filming a period film, and this film feels lived in, not precious or engineered to push buttons.

Nov 17, 2025

Full Review

Zach Youngs

InSession Film

Fairyland is a film that grows into itself. It’s a coming of age story that we see evolve as Alysia grows into it.

Rated: B

Oct 24, 2025

Full Review

André Hereford

Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Adapting Alysia Abbott’s acclaimed memoir about growing up with a single gay dad in ’70s San Francisco, 'Fairyland' shapes the unconventional coming-of-age story into a moving, warmly funny portrait of a bygone era of queer life and liberation.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 11, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

JoAnne

Loved it! Fantastic cast and moving story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/16/25

Full Review

TY

Heartbreakingly beautiful!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/13/25

Full Review

Lynne

It was a wonderful heartfelt movie. Highly recommend

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

Full Review

J

So beautifully told and filmed.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/25

Full Review

Andrei D

The acting is top notch but, after a pretty weird start, the movie descends into pretty familiar drama territory and does not give its two core characters time to breathe

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/17/25

Full Review

Lee B

This is a sweet film with great performances. However, it’s missing the backdrop of history. There are glimpses and hints but they are to thin. The film would have benefited from more of a context of the environment. It didn’t need to be a history lesson but it needed more of a setting.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/15/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Andrew Durham

Director

Emilia Jones

Alysia

Scoot McNairy

Steve

Cody Fern

Eddie

Maria Bakalova

Paulette

Bella Zahra Murphy

Yayne

Blue Jean

96%

91%

Blue Jean

Watchlist

Moonlight

98%

79%

Moonlight

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Moonlight

El Houb

100%

90%

El Houb

Watchlist

Ponyboi

83%

%

Ponyboi

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Ponyboi

You Can Live Forever

91%

79%

You Can Live Forever

Watchlist

TRAILER

for You Can Live Forever

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

15 Films We Can’t Wait to See at Sundance 2023

Fairyland: Trailer 1

1:58

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Produced by Oscar® winner Sofia Coppola (Writing, Original Screenplay, Lost in Translation, 2003) and based on the acclaimed memoir of the same name by Alysia Abbott, Fairyland is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of San Francisco's vibrant cultural scene in the 1970s and '80s. This captivating film chronicles a father and daughter relationship as it evolves through an era of bohemian decadence to the sober and heartbreaking era of the AIDS crisis.

Director: Andrew Durham
Producer: Andrew Durham, Sofia Coppola, Megan Carlson, Laure Sudreau, Siena Oberman, Greg Lauritano
Screenwriter: Andrew Durham
Distributor: Lionsgate / WILLA
Production Co: Lost Gang Films West, Black Magic, American Zoetrope, Artemis, Ouroboros Entertainment, Safe Space Pictures
Rating: R (Drug Use)
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 4, 2025
Runtime: 1h 56m

Most Popular at Home Now