Today on the show, our short run of episodes about Oscar 2026 awards contenders continues with a story about grief and growth amid the final flickers of the old West. Train Dreams – adapted from a novella by Dennis Johnson by my guests today, Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley – takes viewers back to Idaho, 1917. The Spokane International Railroad is under construction and quiet tree logger Robert Granier, played by Joel Edgerton, is one of the labourers paving the way for it. Midway through his life, he experiences an unthinkable tragedy and finds himself plagued by the question: was it karma? Perhaps for his inaction during the brutal, racist murder of a colleague. Or maybe even for the environmental sins of felling so many trees, so much life. The planet somehow evening the score.

If you’ve seen the film, I doubt you’ll be surprised in the slightest by its four nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Song. Train Dreams is a heart-wrenchingly elegy to another time, to another world and to the people we lose in life, who are sometimes ripped from us with sudden cruelty. Clint and Greg know all about the latter. As you’ll hear in this episode, Clint, who directed the movie as well as co-writing it with Greg, lost both his parents in quick succession before filming. And in fact experienced what he’s called “visitations” from them after their deaths, in his dreams like Robert does in Train Dreams.

Support for this episode comes from Final Draft's Big Break screenwriting contest.

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