Emilia Clarke's new film centers on a train journey, two possible lives, and a romantic choice determined by circumstance.
Movie «The Next Life» , written and directed by Drake Doremus, premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the Spotlight Narrative program. In the film, Clarke plays Ivy, a woman whose life splits into two timelines after a chance encounter on a train in London.
In one version, Ivy spills coffee on a jazz musician, played by Edgar Ramirez. In another, this encounter never occurs, and she reunites with her ex-fiancé, played by Jack Farthing. The film explores both paths, as Ivy weighs love, time, creative ambition, and the possibility that one small accident can change her life.
Initial critical reviews were lukewarm. The Hollywood Reporter described Doremus's film as a romantic exercise in contemplation, one that works best when it focuses on artistic passion rather than romance itself.
Clarke stars in a story built around two versions of one life.
Image source: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.
In the official program of the Tribeca Festival The Next Life« Described as a 112-minute drama, musical, and romantic comedy from the UK, the film's synopsis follows Ivy as she travels by train to her goddaughter's christening, where a minor accident paves the way for a new relationship with Ramirez's character.
In an alternate timeline, Ivy finds herself in a different place. Instead of falling in love with a stranger, she arrives alone and reunites with her ex-fiancé, a man connected to an earlier version of her life and career.
This situation gives Clarke a role that's less about spectacle and more about uncertainty. Ivy is torn between two futures: one built around new connections in the London jazz world, and the other tied to a past she thought she'd left behind.
Drake Doremus returns to familiar romantic territory.
Throughout his career, Doremus has built much of his work on heartfelt stories about love, distance, and time. His 2011 film «Like crazy» won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and remains one of the films most closely associated with his style of naturalistic romantic drama.
The Next Life« continues the film's interest in relationships shaped by time and circumstance. The difference here lies in its parallel timeline, which gives the film a conjectural context while keeping the plot within the confines of Ivy's choices.
The Tribeca Film Festival describes the film as an exploration of love, fate, and circumstance. This interpretation aligns with Doremus's longstanding interest in relationships that hinge on small decisions, physical distance, missed opportunities, and emotional indecision.
The cast combines cinema, music and romance.
Image courtesy of Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.
Clarke is joined by Edgar Ramirez and Jack Farthing to form the central love A triangle that unfolds across the film's two timelines. Ramirez's character enters Ivy's life through the jazz scene, while Farthing's character represents a past relationship that still carries emotional weight.
The official Tribeca Film Festival lineup also lists Clarke as one of the film's producers, along with Drake Doremus, Kate Buckley, Gleb Fetisov, Elika Portnaya, and Ben Pugh. This adds interest to the project for audiences who follow Clarke's work beyond his acting career.
The music is part of the film's atmosphere, not just background music. The Tribeca Film Festival celebrated the "energetic jazz club evenings" and the vocal performances of Clarke and Ramirez, placing the performances within the context of Ivy's two possible lives.
The film "The Next Life" is still awaiting a wider release in the United States.
Film premiere «Next Life» premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 5, with additional screenings planned for the event. The festival program lists international sales as handled by Rocket Science and U.S. sales as handled by CAA.
Variety reported that Vertigo Releasing has acquired the rights to the film in the UK and Ireland, with a planned release in the fall of 2026.
A confirmed US release date has not yet been announced in the festival materials. Currently, it is known that the film will be shown in two locations: the world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, followed by a UK and Irish cinema release via Vertigo later this year.
The film's central question remains open for Ivy: a jazz musician after a coffee spill, or an ex-fiancé awaiting his fate in a life where such an accident would never happen.