![‘The Scout’ Review: Paula González-Nasser’s Fantastic Feature Debut Is a Fascinating Discovery [Tribeca]](https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/09151802/MIMI-DAVILA-as-SOFIA-in-THE-SCOUT-directed-by-Paula-Gonzalez-Nasser.jpg "‘The Scout’ Review: Paula González-Nasser’s Fantastic Feature Debut Is a Fascinating Discovery [Tribeca]")
New York City is filled with doors most people will never walk through. A location scout, however, is paid to enter them, photograph what lies inside, and move on. That temporary access to other people’s lives forms the quietly intimate foundation of Paula González-Nasser’s directorial debut, “The Scout.”
The film stars Mimi Davila as Sofia, a location scout searching New York’s homes, businesses, and exteriors for a television pilot. As she moves between neighborhoods and attempts to satisfy her unpredictable employers, Sofia briefly enters the private worlds of strangers, witnessing moments of curiosity, vulnerability, and tension before the assignment takes an unexpectedly personal turn.
González-Nasser drew upon her own six years working as a location scout to write and direct the film, framing Sofia’s unusual profession as a window into the loneliness, instability, and hidden costs of life as a young creative.
“The Scout” premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, where it emerged as a well-received discovery. Alongside Davila, the cast includes Rutanya Alda, Max Rosen, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Sarah Herrman, Alex Goldberg, Peter Mills Weiss, Jackson Devereux, Jesse Ruuttila, Lisa Haas, and Otmara Marrero.
“The Scout” opens at New York’s Film Forum on September 25 and the Alamo Drafthouse in Downtown Los Angeles on October 2, followed by a nationwide theatrical rollout this fall. Watch the trailer below.
Edward Davis is a senior film journalist and longtime contributor to The Playlist. Davis covers the full breadth of cinema — from major studio releases to independent and international film.
