U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Competition Sundance 2022. A Sundance Stand-Out! Sierra Leonean-American director, writer and executive producer Nikatyu Jusu was named one of Variety’s 10 Directors To Watch for good reason. She is a graduate of NYU Tisch Kanbar Institute 2011. Kudos!
Nanny stands head and shoulders above the some half dozen films I have already seen in the festival. (You can soon read my summation of them in my blog.) Nanny’s theme, its story, the storytelling itself — which in the end is equally important to the core story, the overall design, costumes, music and editing are all superbly executed. In other words, this film delivers. And perusing the producers’ credits, one can see this has been handled all along by experienced and award-winning hands. All the horror in the story serves good purpose as the beautiful Anna Diop (Titans) plays the nanny for an upscale Manhattan couple with a sweet daughter Rose and battles the strange and frightening events confronting her.
As the statuesque Aisha prepares for the arrival of the son she left behind in Senegal, a violent supernatural presence invades her reality bringing fear to herself and to the audience as it lurks behind doors, in corners, under beds, under sheets and most importantly, in the water.
The great opening with one sustained note and a not immediately identifiable black face half encased in shadow, like an African mask, reaches down to the African roots of the supernatural horror genre as the hint of Anansi the Spider appears about to crawl across her face.
The classic blue black reminiscent of Moonlight creates a black art style of its own. Why do you suppose black arts are considered evil? Black arts are supernatural (whereas one might say white arts are science fiction). Nanny is creepy even as it plays it straight. The honest feel of spontaneity in the straight parts set off the scary parts so you forget about them until they begin again, like recurring dreams or hallucinations. The husband is exceptionally creepy; something is evil in his humanity...and yet…the acting by is exceptional and naturalistic. The costumes and styling are superbly designed as depicted by the creative team cinematographer Rina Yang, production designer Jonathan Guggenheim and costume designer Charlese Antoinette.
The realism of the actors’ their everyday work, relationships and concerns plays an effective counterpoint to the horror unfolding as Aisha strives to maintain an ordinary life amid increasingly stressful and frightening incidents punctuating her difficult, but — for such immigrant caregivers — normal lives.
A weak line or two throw the viewer off a bit, As Leslie Uggams, the grandmother to the love interest played by an affable and lovable Morgan Spector, says, “I didn’t fail her, the system did” when in this story it is not really a systemic fault we are witnessing and when she says, “How do you use your rage? Is it your superpower or it it your kryptonite” leading us to think it is her rage against the system that will save her or kill her, when again, this is not such a diatribe against the system as it is a depiction of the hardships immigrants [of color] go through to achieve the American Dream.
Another weak link is the sudden change of pallette from bright daylight to dark night, signalling the onset of more intense events. That said, for a debut feature, it stands out among the films I have seen thus far; Jusu has a deft hand and the support of a great crew and production team.
Starring Anna Diop (Us, Titans), Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Spector (Homeland), and Tony® and Emmy® Award-winner Leslie Uggams
Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu is a Sierra Leonean-American whose short film Suicide By Sunlight, a TFI/Chanel Through Her Lens grant recipient, premiered at Sundance in 2019 and was produced by Nanny’s producer, Nikkia Moulterie.
Nanny, her feature debut, was selected for the 2019 IFP Project Forum, the 2020 Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs and Creative Capital Award, and made the Black List. Jusu is also an assistant professor teaching fiction directing and screenwriting. She is repped by M88 and CAA.
A CONVERSATION WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR NIKYATU JUSU with thanks to Ryan Werner and Cinetic for writing this in the press notes. I could not do better than this!
Describe Aisha in your own words. Aisha is an observer. She’s a woman of few words — one constantly studying and processing the world around her. She’s ambitious, focused, cunning, graceful, and somewhat selfish, which is a requisite for the drive necessary to engineer the life she wants.
What’s she afraid of, or perhaps more specifically, what is she haunted by? She’s afraid of losing her child, and losing herself. Like most of us, she’s afraid of failure because for people like her, failure means suffering, even death. The ubiquitous haunting in Nanny is a haunting defined by grief, loss, and systematic obstacles outside of her control.
What specifically did you want to say about motherhood in your debut feature? Bell Hooks defined our current paradigm as an “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.” In this iteration of our world, though ciswomen of all races are making gains in their respective careers, they are still disproportionately in charge of domestic labor. These burdens are multiplied for women of color and most specifically black women. Add to this the burden of inequitable health care for expectant mothers and motherhood becomes a real-life horror story in spite of being vapidly lionized as a revered title. We live in a society that claims to love and support mothers, but its actions show otherwise. Patriarchy enslaves us all and our racial/class hierarchy keeps certain women at the bottom of this oppressive totem pole.
Anna Diop is best known for her television work. She undergoes a lot as an actor in this movie, physically and emotionally. Why did you want to cast her as Aisha? The industry tossed many names on the table — some more ridiculous than others; however, I had my eye on Anna Diop some time ago as an actress who possessed the poise and authenticity I was seeking for my leading lady. Our casting director Kim Coleman was pivotal in facilitating taped auditions and though she presented me with some compelling options, Anna brought a certain gracefulness and genuineness to her audition. She’s stunning, but she also understands Aisha at a visceral level, even an empirical level. More superficially I needed an actress with a level of athleticism since she would be thrust into water and tossed around a bit by our supernatural haunting.
Aisha is employed by Amy and Adam, a wealthy New York City couple. Describe them and the world they live in. Amy and Adam are a relatively wealthy Tribeca couple. They are self-professed liberals, people who believe they are self-aware, with a deep understanding of what it means to be white in America, and in the world. They even dare occasionally to say out loud that they are “white folks,” a brave proclamation in a world that perceives whiteness as an unspoken identifier while the rest of us are racialized. Their friend circle is mostly like them: well-traveled, successful in their respective careers, polished. They have enough token “friends of color” to feel they don’t inhabit a vapid white vacuum. Their obstacles are restricted to the baseline: existential crisis, loneliness, depression/mental illness, substance abuse, infidelity…basically conflicts of the human condition devoid of the added burdens of being marginalized and/or poor.
Why was Michelle Monaghan the right fit for Amy? Michelle’s ability to perform and imbue her role with heaping spoonfuls of self-awareness stunned me and made me a stronger director. She was a blessing because Amy could have easily ventured into caricature territory. I’m not interested in depictions of whiteness that feel satirized; I think it’s more compelling and effective to portray whiteness in its banality — its everydayness of microaggressions and cumulative ignorance which become larger systemic issues. Michelle humanized Amy in a way that I hope certain audiences can see themselves within. She’s such a smart, curious performer. We discovered new nuances through conversation, deep reading of the text, and (though meager) rehearsal time.
Describe your familiarity with the immigrant community in New York City. Were you thinking about a specific neighborhood for Aisha’s immediate world? For Aisha’s immediate world I thought of Harlem, where an entire subsection is actually dubbed Little Senegal. Though I am Sierra Leonean-American and Anna is Senegalese-American, there are some similarities in West African cultures across the board. I was able to tap into that authenticity by leaning into the nuances of Anna’s Senegalese culture: food, language (Wolof), francophone-tinged accent, traditional garb, etc…
Nobody is raising their own children in Nanny. Was this something you wanted to explore in the movie? No one wins in this imperial racist patriarchy. This is what I want people to understand. Inequities ultimately impact us all whether you are closer to the theoretical “front of the line” in this racial/class hierarchy or at the very back of it. America injects us all with this toxic sense of individualism that yanks many of us away from our more communal, village-oriented roots. When the elders are nurtured, they in turn can help nurture younger generations. Everyone chips in to raise the children when the mothers and fathers have to work. The U.S. conditions us to normalize outsourcing child rearing so we can continue to participate in the rat race of capitalism. None of this is healthy and no one thrives — least of all the children.
Nanny is subtle in its approach to on-screen horror, using mounting paranoia and dread. Describe your approach and strategy to placing your scares. Most of my horror influences are slow-burn international films: Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona, Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In, Takashi Miike’s Audition, Kim Jee Woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters…these are a handful of films that inform my horror sensibilities which aren’t necessarily always so formulaic with jump scares every x minutes and easily categorized as “traditional American horror.”
What I appreciate about these cross-genre horror films is the skill level needed to nurture a rising sense of dread that culminates in horrifying catharsis. One of our collaborators described our film as a “thrumming anxiety” and I think that’s a perfect description for what I wanted to convey through Aisha’s journey — this pervasive thrumming anxiety one feels navigating spaces never meant for us to thrive within. It’s not always about obvious outright violence, it’s often about the myriad microscopic ways your humanity is chipped away at, which in turn affects your quality of sleep, which affects your health, which…well, the domino effect is endless. Imagine having to constantly proclaim your life matters. It’s all violence.
You also explore and infuse West African folktales in the movie, specifically Anansi the Spider and Mami Wata, which have symbolic resonance. What is your personal experience with these folktales? I grew up hearing about Anansi the spider superficially and later in life Mami Wata. Both figures have different iterations and names in African Diasporic cultures and indigenous cultures — the trickster figure in particular (Anansi). As I’ve matured, I’ve formed an affinity for learning about the ways my ancestors resisted and persisted, pulling from their stories as inspiration in these dark times. They survived more treacherous times for me to be here and I’m intrigued by the magical narratives — true or not — we told ourselves and each other in order to thrive.
What effect does Anansi the Spider and Mami Wata have on Aisha over the course of the movie? Kathleen serves as our guide helping us to superficially understand the presence of both Mami Wata and Anansi. They are African diasporic figures of resistance using different tools: Anansi is a mischievous influence ready to draw blood if necessary. Mami Wata is more of a seductive, sometimes sinister but cunning presence. I am not even scratching the surface of what these figures truly mean. Both figures inspire Aisha to understand her place in this foreign, racialized system. They also inspire her to step into her inherent power and fight back when necessary rather than be a docile and humble servant. Additionally, they want her to comprehend a prescient message that informs her past, present and future. Time isn’t so literal with these figures, nor is the spiritual vs physical realm a concrete binary. We are constantly straddling all of these worlds simultaneously. I am still figuring out how to portray this.
How does Aisha change over the course of this movie? She steps into a power she always had, a tenaciousness she forgot how to flex. We become beaten down by messaging and imagery that tells us we are less than. This is your fate. I wanted to portray a character who, by divine intervention, remembers she is a warrior.
What did you want to examine or say about race and immigration with this movie? So many things. Race is a social construct that has us all in a chokehold. I am here because of my immigrant parents. We are a nation of colliding and intersecting human beings from various origins who too often only perceive one another through a lens of artificial identifiers. Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye said, “As far as I’m concerned, once the film is finished it belongs to the spectators and critics. That’s why I don’t like interviews.” Regardless of my many intentions I hope people who view Nanny become more curious: about their place in the world, about West African Folklore, about the formerly invisible people who live on the periphery of their lives, about their inherent power they simply need to tap into…
Aside for hearing the director-writer’s own words, writing here about the cast and crew is meant to help developing filmmakers understand and target their own search for professionals who might help them move their own projects forward. If you liked this film and you want to make a film with a sensibility in alignment with that shown in this superb example of filmmaking, these people might be added to your wish list of people to pitch. Being at Sundance allows you to have access to them in ways you would not ordinarily have. But if you are not at Sundance, just knowing the Who’s Who of movie making is a step in the right direction for furthering your own work.
Nikkia Moulterie, Producer (Stay Gold Productions) produced Suicide by Sunlight in 2019 with writer/director Nikyatu Jusu, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and continued a successful run at BAMcinemaFEST, BFI London Film Fest, MoMA’s Black Women Film Conference, AFI and more.
Jusu and Moulterie continued their collaboration with Nanny — a 2020 Sundance Screenwriting / Directors / Catalyst Lab project premiering at Sundance 2022.
Nikkia Moulterie is a creative producer born and raised in New York City. At 16, her interest in cinema sparked while working as an usher at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s — Walter Reade Theater. She is a 2019 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow and Silverman Honoree. She co-produced the premiere season of the Peabody Award-winning Random Acts of Flyness for MVMT / HBO. In addition, her work as a producer also includes projects at ABC News, MTV, T Magazine, Nike, Louis Vuitton with the Late Virgil Abloh, as well as numerous works in the commercial and branded content world. She is currently an Executive Producer at creative agency The Kitchen Table in New York City.
Rebecca Cammarata, Executive Producer is the Head of Production and Development for Stay Gold Productions. Cammarata was an Executive Producer on Nikole Beckwith’s Together Together starring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison, which was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards and premiered at Sundance; as well as a Co-Producer on Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, which was nominated for two Oscars, as well as Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy, which was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards. She co-produced the 2021 release Joe Bell starring Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. Prior to joining Stay Gold, Cammarata was the Creative Executive at Jake Gyllenhaal’s company Nine Stories Productions where she worked closely with producer Riva Marker on David Gordon Green’s Stronger, Paul Dano’s directing debut Wildlife, and the 2017 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. Before Nine Stories, Cammarata was an executive at Red Crown Productions and her credits there include Beasts of No Nation; Hello, My Name is Doris and The Family Fang.
Daniela Taplin Lundberg is the Founder of Stay Gold Features, an independent film finance and production company. Her recent producing credits include Nikole Beckwiths’ Together Together; Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet starring Cynthia Erivo in an Oscar-nominated role; Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy; and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Joe Bell.
Prior to launching Stay Gold, Lundberg was a co-founding partner of Red Crown Productions where she produced Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation and Michael Showalter’s Hello, My Name is Doris. She was previously a partner at Plum Pictures where she produced over 20 films, including Golden Globe Best Picture winner The Kids are All Right. She was named to Variety’s 2020 Women’s Impact Report and is the recipient of the 2020 Hollywood Critics Association Producer of the Decade award. Lundberg is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as of YPO (Young President’s Organization). She is a graduate of Princeton University and lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children.
Maria Zuckerman, Executive Producer, is President of Topic Studios, where she leads the creative vision and overall strategy including development, financing and production across feature films, documentaries, television and podcasts. She joined First Look Media to run the award-winning entertainment studio in May of 2019, where she is also responsible for leading distribution and go-to-market strategy as the studio partners with distributors across content for television, streaming, theatrical and digital releases.
Since assuming the helm at Topic Studios, Maria has led a significant expansion of the studio, helping to build it into a major creative force while giving new and established voices the opportunity to collaborate and produce extraordinary work. Projects she has helped usher in to the studio include Pablo Larraìn’s Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana and in theaters November 5 (with NEON); Kevin Macdonald’s recent legal thriller The Mauritanian (STX); the big wave surfing series, 100 Foot Wave, and the three-part documentary series, Nuclear Family, on HBO/HBO Max; Untitled Vincent Chin Project, a scripted drama limited series created by Marilyn Fu with Destin Daniel Cretton attached to direct (with Amazon); Untitled Martin Lawrence Project, based on the acclaimed Israeli Hot series; Nehama; the Pulitzer finalist podcast Somebody (iHeartRadio); and American Isis (Audible), about an American ISIS fighter.
Maria joined Topic Studios after 20 years at HBO, where she served as Senior Vice President, HBO Films, overseeing the development and production of original movies for the network. Zuckerman oversaw production of more than 30 titles during her tenure and brought in such talent as Richard Curtis, Peter Morgan and David Yates. Her films earned HBO 95 Emmy® nominations, winning 17 Emmy® Awards, including three Best Movie/Miniseries; 22 Golden Globe® nominations with five wins, including two for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television; 23 BAFTA® nominations and numerous NAACP®, GLAAD® and SAG® Awards.
Ryan Heller, Senior Vice President and Head of Film and Acquisitions at Topic Studios, the entertainment unit of First Look Media is responsible for overseeing the company’s feature film slate across development, financing, production and distribution as well as seeking out key acquisitions to complement original studio productions. Recent projects include Pablo Larraín’s award-winning Spencer (NEON/Topic Studios) starring Kristen Stewart; Debra Granik’s acclaimed Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street); Michael Angelo Covino’s buddy comedy The Climb (Sony Classics) which premiered in official selection at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival; Julius Onah’s dramatic thriller Luce starring Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer (nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards); Steven Soderbergh’s Panama Papers satire The Laundromat (Netflix) starring Meryl Streep; and Kevin Macdonald’s Guantanamo-set legal thriller The Mauritanian (STXfilms) starring Jodie Foster (Golden Globe-winner), Tahar Rahim (Golden Globe-nominee), Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley. Documentary projects include Chris Smith-directed HBO series 100 Foot Wave, Ry Russo Young’s Nuclear Family (HBO) and Lucy Walker’s California wildfire exposé (Paramount+).
Ryan was previously at Starz Entertainment where he led the buying and releasing of feature films for the Starz Digital banner including: Amy Berg’s Every Secret Thing starring Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Banks; Jason Bateman’s The Family Fang starring Bateman, Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken; Sophie Goodhart’s My Blind Brother starring Adam Scott, Nick Kroll and Jenny Slate; and two- time Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple’s Miss Sharon Jones. Ryan holds a BA from Boston College and is a graduate of New York University’s M.B.A./M.F.A. dual degree program.
Grace Lay, Executive Producer, Linlay Productions, was born and raised in Chicago by immigrant Taiwanese parents. In her former life before producing, she worked as a physician in Internal Medicine. After living in Silicon Valley for a number of years, she moved to Puerto Rico, which she’s called home for the past few years.
Sumalee Montano, Executive Producer, holds a breadth of perspectives, starting her career as an investment banker, and now as an actress-producer. Onscreen, Sumalee is currently a series regular in the action series Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. She has also acted in nearly 200 animated roles to date across film, television, and AAA video games, including Sony’s Ghost of Tsushima. Sumalee is a Harvard graduate and US Fulbright Scholar. She is Filipina and Thai and currently resides in Los Angeles.
Rinay Yang, Director of Photography, is originally from Japan. Rina learned how to shoot by helping her friends make music videos and short films. She eventually went on to be nominated for best cinematographer at the BAFTA Cymru Awards, the first female DOP to ever be nominated for fiction in that category. With many other cinematography awards and nominations under her belt, Rina then shot the BAFTA winning BBC1 film, Sittng in Limbo, and was the DOP on episodes of Netflix’s Top Boy S3, and the season 2 of Euphoria for HBO and A24.
Ian Takahashi, Underwater DP, is native to the Napa Valley of California. He began his career training under Francis F Coppola and John Toll, ASC, before being mentored by underwater cameraman Mike Thomas. His career has brought him to work for directors Ron Howard, James Gunn, Joe Wright, Cameroon Crowe, Marc Forster, and many others. he has worked for all the Major Studios and streaming companies, as well as shooting videos for Beyoncé, Harry Styles, and Katy Perry, commercials for Apple, Nike, Audi, Ford to name a few, even winning a Clio for his first national commercial feat, Steph Curry. Always up for a challenge and telling a great story, he is currently bringing his style of images to a BBC Science film, while prepping projects in the USA and Asia.
Jonathan Guggenheim, Production Designer, discovered his affection for design while attending University of North Carolina at Wilmington. It was there he received a BA in Communication Studies with a concentration in visual media and performance of literature. His involvement in theatre allowed him to experiment with set design, prop fabrication, and scenic painting. He began working as an Art Director in the film industry on projects such as Restless City, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Loving, Leave no Trace, Boy Erased, and most recently on the reboot oF Scream as well as The Black Phone. His foray into Production Design includes the films To the Stars, Wild Indian, and of course for the forthcoming supernatual thriller, Nanny, all of which have been selected for U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.
Charlese Antoinette, Costume Designer, has established herself over the past decadeas one of the most talented costume designers in the business. Her recent work includes the critically acclaimed film, Judas and the Black Messiah, for which she received a 2021 Costume Designers Guild Award nomination.
Charlese has costume designed over 10 remarkable feature films starting with Newlyweeds, which went on to win an Independent Spirit Award and premiered as part of 2013 Sundance NEXT. She then went on to design George Tillman’s The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, which also premiered at Sundance in 2013. Charlese has had several films premiere at TriBeCa film fest including: Vincent N Roxxy, Little Boxes, and Spike Lee produced See You Yesterday.
Her stunning work has also been seen on TV shows including Macro/ Netflix Original Raising Dion, which was number one internationally, as well as Kenya Barris’s Netflix Original sketch comedy show, Astronomy Club.
Risha Rox, Make-up Department Head/ SFX Make-up Head, is a New York and Los Angeles based Makeup Artist for Film & Television. She followed an unconventional path towards her career, originally pulled onto film projects for her skills as a fine artist and bodypainter. She became captivated by the magic of cinematic storytelling and the opportunity to collaborate, using her talents in novel ways. She imbues her work with a passionate approach to light, color and material.
Risha has served as Makeup Department Head on various fascinating NY projects, including: Nanny, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, for which she is currently gearing up for Season 2) and The Independent (an upcoming political thriller on which she expanded her repertoire by acting as personal MU to Jodie Turner Smith). Also an emerging Makeup Designer, Risha recently completed design on an ad campaign for Facebook Messenger and two immersive theater productions for Virgin Cruise Lines. When in Los Angeles, Risha enjoys celebrity grooming for clients such as John Goodman, Dennis Haysbert and Winston Duke.
ABOUT STAY GOLD FEATURES
Since launching in 2016, Stay Gold Features has produced nine feature films, all of which were financed or acquired by major distributors. Recent releases include Focus Features’ Harriet directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Cynthia Erivo in her Academy Award nominated role; as well as Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy which was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards; Nikole Beckwiths’ Together Together starring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison, which premiered at Sundance and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards; and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Joe Bell starring Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton. Stay Gold also produced Nanny.
Additional Stay Gold Features films include Sundance Film Festival breakout Patti Cake$ starring Danielle Macdonald, which was acquired and distributed by Fox Searchlight; A Ciambra, directed by Jonas Carpignano, which was Italy’s 2018 Oscar submission, and Under the Silver Lake, directed and written by David Robert Mitchell and starring Andrew Garfield, which was acquired and distributed by A24.
ABOUT TOPIC STUDIOS
Topic Studios, the award-winning entertainment studio from First Look Media, develops, finances, and produces provocative and entertaining content for all platforms including theatrical, streaming, television, and podcasts. From Pablo Larraìn’s highly anticipated Spencer starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana (with NEON); Kevin Macdonald’s recent legal thriller The Mauritanian, starring Jodie Foster (Golden Globe® winner for her performance), Tahar Rahim (Golden Globe® nominee for his performance), Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley (STX); and the Academy Award®-winning Spotlight; to documentaries including the big wave surfing series, 100 Foot Wave recently renewed for a second season, and the three-part documentary series, Nuclear Family, both on HBO/HBO Max; The Fight, co-released with Magnolia Pictures; and Mucho Mucho Amor on Netflix; to television with the Film Independent Spirit Award-nominated docuseries Love Fraud and the Emmy Award®-winning and Peabody Award nominated 16 Shots, both on Showtime; as well as pioneering podcasts including Pulitzer finalist and IDA Award-winning investigative podcast Somebody, with iHeartMedia; Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu on Warner Media Podcast Network; and The Messenger and American Isis on Audible Plus. Recent and Nanny as well as upcoming films Adam Leon’s Italian Studies starring Academy Award® nominee Vanessa Kirby (Magnolia Pictures); Lucy Walker’s wildfires documentary Bring Your Own Brigade, on Paramount+; The Nowhere Inn (IFC Films), written by and starring Carrie Brownstein and St. Vincent; Douglas Tirola’s Leonard Bernstein portrait Bernstein’s Wall; Dream Horse (co-released with Bleecker Street), starring Toni Collette and Damian Lewis and directed by Euros Lyn; and Michael Angelo Covino’s The Climb (Sony Pictures Classics). Topic Studios is also ramping up its scripted television division with the Untitled Martin Lawrence Project, based on the acclaimed Israeli “HOT” series Nehama; also the Untitled Vincent Chin Project, a scripted drama limited series created by Marilyn Fu with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings) attached to direct (in partnership with Amazon); and two premium dramas arising from the Studios’ previous first-look deal with Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip), including the adult thriller Savannah with PKM Productions for Amazon Studios.
ABOUT LINLAY PRODUCTIONS
LinLay Productions is led by Grace Lay and actress Sumalee Montano. The two Asian-American women support intergenerational stories that center multicultural talent in front of and behind the camera. LinLay strives to amplify voices that deserve the chance to leave a visible and lasting mark in the history of storytelling. LinLay has three official selections at Sundance Film Festival 2022: Nanny, Aftershock and Riotsville, USA. LinLay has also supported Rebecca Hall’s Passing and the upcoming sci-fi adventure film, The Deal.
Written and Directed By: Nikyatu Jusu
Produced by: Nikkia Moulterie, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Executive Producers: Maria Zuckerman, Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom, Rebecca Cammarata, Nnamdi Asomugha, Bill Benenson, Laurie Benenson, Grace Lee, Sumalee Montano, Nikyatu Jusu
Co-Producers: Ged Dickersin, Kim Coleman Associate Producer: Vanessa Mendal
Director of Photography: Rina Yang
Production Designer: Jonathan Guggenheim
Edited by: Robert Mead
Costume Designer: Charlese Antoinette Jones
Music By: Tanerelle Bartek
Music Supervisor: Barry Cole
Casting by: Kim Coleman
Starring:
Anna Diop (Aisha)
Michele Monaghan (Amy)
Sinqua Walls (Malik)
Morgan Spector (Adam)
Rose Decker (Rose)
And Leslie Uggams (Kathleen)
Sales Contact: CAA / Christine Hsu: christine.hsu@caa.com CAA / Benjamin Kramer: benjamin.kramer@caa.com
Running time: 97 minutes
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