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In Waves

Play trailer Poster for In Waves 2026 1h 31m Animation Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 8 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
In Los Angeles, AJ, a shy teenager, meets Kristen. She lives for surfing; he loves skateboarding and drawing. They fall madly in love, and a happy future seems within reach. But everything changes when Kristen faces a sudden illness. Together, they face adversity, driven by the strength of their love, their friends, and their newly shared passion for surfing and the ocean.

Critics Reviews

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Tomris Laffly Variety 4d
In Waves offers viewers a good old-fashioned cry, in the form of a traditional emotional rollercoaster that wants to win over our cynical hearts in hordes. Its grief is a wave that ebbs and flows, and it’s very much worth riding. Go to Full Review Carlos Aguilar The Playlist 6d
C
From a visual standpoint, the result is gorgeously realized, though far from innovative. Narratively, however, it remains by-the-numbers and simplistically sentimental. Go to Full Review Marya E. Gates IndieWire May 21
C
Features beautiful, emotional animation, but is bogged down by its clichéd story of a man coming of age by falling in love with a dying (surfer) girl. Go to Full Review Liselotte Vanophem Geek Vibes Nation May 18
8/10
In Waves might not be able to escape the clutches of cliches, but because it’s based on a real-life story, we can more easily forgive Nguyen for those flaws. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Phuong Mai Nguyen

Director

Stephanie Hsu

Kristen

Will Sharpe

AJ

Fanny Burdino

Screenwriter

Samuel Doux

Screenwriter

Priscilla Bertin

Producer
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In Waves

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Movie Info

Synopsis In Los Angeles, AJ, a shy teenager, meets Kristen. She lives for surfing; he loves skateboarding and drawing. They fall madly in love, and a happy future seems within reach. But everything changes when Kristen faces a sudden illness. Together, they face adversity, driven by the strength of their love, their friends, and their newly shared passion for surfing and the ocean.
Director
Phuong Mai Nguyen
Producer
Priscilla Bertin, Judith Nora, Nick Shumaker
Screenwriter
Fanny Burdino, Samuel Doux
Production Co
Silex Films, Charades Productions, Anonymous Content, France 3 Cinema
Genre
Animation, Drama, Romance
Original Language
French
Runtime
1h 31m