An outstanding feature début with a sci-fi thriller that’s as engrossing as it is thought-provoking, with echoes of Shane Carruth’s Pri mer (2004) and Cronenberg’s Sca nners (1981).

Two grad students are working on a garage-low-fi project exploring how technology could make mind-reading routine. Their invention looks likely to destroy their lives, especially when it falls into the wrong hands.

What Sullins delivers is a slick thriller with a cool sound-track and a wonderful cinematic technique to show how the mind-reading feels to the cast.

As one reviewer put it, “It’s not every day one comes across a film that far exceeds any expectation – Listening is a captivating movie with serious style and plenty of substance.”