32ND ANNUAL CUCALORUS FILM FESTIVAL

presents

Riptides

SAT · NOVEMBER 21 · 2026 · 7:00 PM · THALIAN MAIN

Riptides 

Director: Alex Karpovsky / 93:00

Saturday / 7:00 PM / Thalian Main

In a sun-kissed beach town south of the border, burnout Airbnb manager Toby (Steve Little) has perfected a life of booze, bong hits and very little ambition. But his groove is obliterated by the arrival of Paul Melton (Dylan Baker), an American “human potential” guru in freefall, and his high-strung daughter/manager, Michelle (Bojana Novakovic). As Toby gets swept up in Paul's latest self-help gospel, the tension between father and daughter boils over into tragedy. Suddenly, Toby is thrown into a frantic cover-up, dodging local police, a sworn enemy, and his own worsening judgment. "Riptides" is a dark tropical tragicomedy about dreams, delusions and drifting far, far, far out to sea. The latest film from writer/director Alex Karpovsky plunges into the hysteria of "self-improvement" and the increasingly desperate things we do to give our lives meaning.