WIFF Review: Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Debut' is a Feel-Good Triumph

By entirely random coincidence, the first four films I watched at the 2026 Warsaw Film Festival in Poland all happened to be about the same thing: female empowerment & emancipation. Each with entirely different stories about unique aspects of the good/bad sides of how it happens and what many women go through, from the struggles and why freedom is so hard to ascertain, to the paths to which they can break through to gain agency and feel more empowered in their own body. These four films at WIFF were Growth of the Soil (also quite good), The Liberation, The Debut, and (the very aptly named Polish film) A Free Woman. Above all, Jesse Eisenberg's latest film The Debut is the best of them and deserves the most praise. It's upbeat and cheery and spry and engaging – not only a genuinely meaningful feel-good film for all the right reasons, but also an invigorating tale of finding your voice and freedom and power to be who YOU want to be. And similar to the iconic Sing Sing and other stories, it's all about how storytelling (participating in it) is a major factor in helping people grow & build themselves up. I loved this film and I'm certain everyone else will, too. // Continue Reading ›