''Slauson Rec'' is a 2025 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by . It chronicles actor

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf ( ; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and 2002 and won a Dayt ...

’s free experimental acting collective founded in 2018 at the Slauson Recreation Center in

South-Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is defined on Los Angeles c ...

, from its euphoric beginnings to an acrimonious collapse marked by LaBeouf’s volatile outbursts and physical confrontations. The film had its world premiere in the Cannes Classics section of the

78th Cannes Film Festival The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2025. French actress Juliette Binoche served as jury president for the main competition. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

on 18 May 2025, where it was nominated for the

L'Œil d'or ''L'Œil d'or, le prix du documentaire'' — Cannes (, "The Golden Eye, The Documentary Prize — Cannes") is a documentary film award created in 2015. It is awarded to the best documentary presented in one of the sections of the Cannes Film Festi ...

Synopsis

In September 2018 LaBeouf posts an open invitation on Twitter (now X) for anyone with “a story that needs telling” to attend a free Saturday-morning workshop. Filmmaker Leo Lewis O’Neil, then 21, becomes the group’s self-appointed archivist, ultimately recording some 800 hours of footage. ''Slauson Rec'' traces the collective’s evolution—from ecstatic trust exercises and a devised piece titled ''The New Human'' to pandemic-era rehearsals of a drive-in play called ''5711 Avalon''. As LaBeouf’s temper worsens, the film captures multiple incidents of verbal and physical abuse, including the firing of an actress days after her mother’s death and an altercation that leaves another student bruised. The group dissolves in November 2020 amid turmoil and LaBeouf’s looming legal troubles. A coda, filmed two years later, finds him acknowledging a “god complex” and expressing a desire to make amends.

Production

O’Neil shot the project on a single handheld camera supplied by LaBeouf, who encouraged him to “film everything” without restriction. After the collective’s collapse, O’Neil and producer Matt Zien edited the material independently, with Danny Smight and Kevin Klauber, A.C.E., shaping the final 140-minute cut. Zien told Deadline that Cannes had been the team’s primary goal from the outset of post-production, informing festival strategy. LaBeouf never sought editorial control and insisted that uncomfortable footage remain in the film.

Release

The documentary debuted on 18 May 2025 at the

, screening in Cannes Classics sectiom. LaBeouf attended the premiere alongside O’Neil, Zien and Knight. A U.S. distributor had not been announced as of May 2025.

Critical response

Early reviews were polarised but largely praised O’Neil’s unvarnished access. ''Rolling Stone'' called the film “one of the most damning, unfiltered, take-no-prisoners portraits of a celebrity losing his emperever recorded for posterity.” ‘‘The Times’’ noted that “nothing can quite prepare you for the LaBeouf featured” in what it termed a “thermonuclear rage machine” of a documentary. ''The Daily Telegraph'' awarded four stars, praising the film’s “grimly revealing” study of Hollywood power dynamics. RogerEbert.com’s Zachary Lee argued that the documentary “warns against what happens to communities that cede their collective power in favor of being shaped by the ego of a sole charismatic leader.”

Accolades

As of May 2025, ''Slauson Rec'' had not yet secured awards but was expected to appear on the nonfiction-festival circuit through the second half of the year.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 36414908, Slauson Rec
Official website
2025 films 2025 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about actors Films shot in Los Angeles Films about theatre Cannes Film Festival