Come Sunday, the team behind Train Dreams will finally learn the results of their four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. And, for producer Ashley Schlaifer, it’s been a very long road to this moment.
The Clint Bentley-directed film premiered at Sundance in 2025, was snapped up by Netflix and went on to win Best Feature, Director and Cinematography at the Independent Spirit Awards, with DP Adolpho Veloso also winning the BAFTA and Critics Choice Award. Behind-the-scenes though, the film has been some ten years in the making, with Schlaifer producing alongside Kamala Pictures founder Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwartzman, Will Janowitz and Michael Heimler.
Before Bentley came on board with co-writer Greg Kwedar, Schlaifer was there, pushing for this adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella. A self-confessed bookworm, Schlaifer fell hard for Johnson’s story and was determined to see it on screen, despite its not being an obvious choice.
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