Vertical has released the first trailer for The Gallerist, the upcoming absurdist comedy starring Jenna Ortega and Natalie Portman. The dark comedy follows Portman as Polina Polinski, a gallery owner at her wits’ end, facing financial hardship and separation from her partner. She is joined by Ortega, who plays Kiki, Polina’s assistant. The film is directed by Cathy Yan, who previously helmed Birds of Prey.
The film’s distribution rights were picked up by Vertical and Roadside Attractions earlier this year after its Sundance Film Festival premiere. Set against the backdrop of Art Basel Miami, the film’s inciting incident is Polina passing off an accidental corpse as the centerpiece of her debut show. What follows is a game of deception and a comedy of errors, with Polina trying her best to turn the incident into a viral sensation.
Watch The Gallerist trailer below:
What movies did Cathy Yan direct before making The Gallerist?
Yan has directed several shorts and two feature films. Her filmography includes 2018’s Dead Pigs and 2020’s Birds of Prey. The Gallerist is her third feature, although she also directed an episode of HBO’s Succession. Birds of Prey remains the only film she did not write herself, which was a modest success in terms of critics’ reviews. Her feature debut, Dead Pigs, was critically acclaimed and won several awards at various film festivals.
Besides Portman and Ortega, the film stars Sterling K. Brown, Daniel Brühl, Charli XCX, Zach Galifianakis, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is produced by Sophie Mas, Ash Sarohia, Natalie Portman, Jonathan King, Tom McCarthy, Rae Baron, and Zola Elgart Glassman.
Portman will be next seen in the romantic film, Good Sex, followed by the psychological thriller Pumping Back. Ortega most recently starred in Klara and the Sun, and will follow it up with The Great Beyond, Nasty, and Wednesday Season 3.
The Gallerist releases on December 4, 2026.
