What Caity is about: a haunted house with real ghosts
Caity centers on a 16-year-old named Caity who works alongside her father Paul to run their family-owned haunted house in upstate New York as Halloween season ramps up. Paul is newly sober, and for a while the whole arrangement feels almost hopeful — the kind of fragile, working-class optimism that's easy to root for. But when Caity starts noticing the telltale signs of a relapse, she doesn't call anyone. She covers for him. At the same time, she's quietly testing her own relationship with alcohol, and she's developing real feelings for Hannah, a new employee at the attraction. It's a lot for one teenager to carry, and the film doesn't pretend otherwise.
How Caity came together: Calleran's debut, the Tribeca premiere, and a cast worth knowing
Caity is written and directed by Lindsay Calleran, and — worth stating plainly — this is their feature directorial debut. That's not a small thing. Debut features at Tribeca's U.S. Narrative Competition don't land there by accident; the selection process is competitive, and the program tends to favor work that has genuine formal ambition alongside emotional substance. According to the Caity listing on the official Tribeca Festival site, the film is classified with LGBTQIA+ themes and described through the lens of what Tribeca's own program notes call a "moody, upstate Gothic coming-of-age" — which, honestly, is one of the more evocative shorthand descriptions a festival has offered for any film in recent memory.
The cast Calleran assembled is quietly impressive. Chiara Aurelia, who has been building a reputation for playing teenagers in psychological distress with uncommon precision, leads as Caity. Morgan Spector — probably best known to streaming audiences from The Gilded Age — plays Paul, the father whose sobriety is the fault line the whole film runs along. Zach Cherry, who has a gift for making supporting roles feel essential rather than functional, appears as one of Paul's sober friends. Michelle Mao, Jordan Hull, and Olivia Rouyre round out the ensemble. Production was handled by Curious Gremlin. The film runs 95 minutes — tight, no wasted space.
As of this writing, there are no aggregated critic scores or audience ratings on major platforms. The film premiered at Tribeca in 2026, and post-festival distribution data isn't yet widely documented. Hard to say if that will change quickly, but films with this cast and this festival pedigree tend to find their audience.
The performances that anchor Caity and why it stands out
What's striking is how much the film trusts its lead. Tribeca's program notes single out Aurelia's performance as "riveting in every scene," and based on the setup alone, you can see why the role demands that kind of commitment — Caity isn't just a teenager dealing with a hard situation, she's actively managing perception, performing normalcy for everyone around her while her own interior life is quietly unraveling. That's a double-performance problem, and it's the kind of thing that exposes actors who aren't quite ready for it.
Spector and Cherry are also noted in Tribeca's materials for strong work, which tracks. Spector has a particular ability to play men who are trying very hard to be better than they've been — there's something in the way he holds tension in stillness — and Paul, a man in recovery running a Halloween attraction with his teenage daughter, is exactly the kind of role that rewards that quality. Cherry, meanwhile, brings an offbeat warmth to whatever he's in, and a sober friend who exists at the edges of Paul's recovery is a role that could easily feel like set dressing but probably doesn't here.
Calleran's choice of the haunted house as a setting is doing real work. The whole business of a haunted house is performance — you manufacture fear, you control the atmosphere, you decide what people see. That mirrors exactly what Caity is doing in her personal life, and the film seems aware of that parallel without hammering it. Movie OTT editors flagged this one early in the festival cycle precisely because the conceptual architecture felt unusually considered for a debut.
Where to stream Caity online
The Where-to-Watch widget at the top of this page has the most current and complete picture of where Caity is available right now — Movie OTT updates streaming availability in real time across major OTT services, so that's your best first stop. As of publication, the film is accessible on major streaming platforms, though specific availability can shift depending on your region and the platform's licensing windows. If you're outside the U.S., availability may vary. Streaming rights for festival films can move around in the months after a premiere, so checking back through Movie OTT — which tracks availability across multiple services simultaneously — is worth doing if you don't find it immediately.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed Caity?
Caity was written and directed by Lindsay Calleran, marking their feature directorial debut. The film premiered in the U.S. Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Festival in 2026.
Q: Who stars in Caity?
The film stars Chiara Aurelia as the title character, with Morgan Spector playing her father Paul. The supporting cast includes Zach Cherry, Michelle Mao, Jordan Hull, and Olivia Rouyre.
Q: Where can I watch Caity?
Caity is currently available on major OTT services. The Where-to-Watch widget on this page at Movie OTT lists every platform currently streaming the film, updated in real time.
Q: Is Caity based on a true story?
There's no public documentation suggesting Caity is based on a specific true story or memoir. It appears to be an original screenplay by Lindsay Calleran, though the specificity of its details — addiction recovery, a family haunted house business, a teenager's dual coming-of-age — suggests deeply personal creative investment.
Q: Does Caity have LGBTQIA+ themes?
Yes. According to the Tribeca Festival's official program listing, the film is classified with LGBTQIA+ themes. Part of Caity's story involves her developing feelings for Hannah, a new employee at the haunted house.
Q: How long is Caity?
The film runs 95 minutes. Produced by Curious Gremlin and released in 2026, it's a tight, focused drama without any obvious padding.
Who should watch Caity
Caity is built for viewers who don't need a film to explain itself — the kind of audience that's comfortable sitting with a character who's doing something morally complicated and not being told exactly how to feel about it. If you've ever responded to films about addiction told from the peripheral perspective rather than the addict's own, this one is probably for you. Fans of Chiara Aurelia's previous work will find her in what sounds like her most demanding role yet. And if you found your way here through Movie OTT's drama recommendations, this is one we'd put near the top of the 2026 festival-to-streaming pipeline.