Selah and the Spades (film)

Movie
Original title	Selah and the Spades
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	2019
length	97 minutes
Rod
Director	Tayarisha Poe
script	Tayarisha Poe
production	Jill Ahrens , ; Drew Houpt , ; Lucas Joaquin , ; Lauren McBride , ; Tayarisha Poe
music	ASKA
camera	Jomo Fray
cut	Kate Abernathy
occupation
	Lovie Simone : Selah Summers; Jharrel Jerome : Maxxie; Jesse Williams : Headmaster Banton; Christy Coco : Morgan M.; Ali Fisher : June; Henry Hunter Hall : Tarit; Debbie Aboaba : Ilana; Rae Bell : Lulu; Krish Bhuva : Mooks; Benjamin Breault : David; Ana Mulvoy Ten; Celeste O'Connor; Luke Crory;

Selah and the Spades is a drama directed by Tayarisha Poe that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 .

action

Five groups operate in the background of the renowned Haldwell boarding school near Philadelphia. At the head of the most powerful faction called "The Spades" is Selah Summers. With intelligence and skillful manipulations, she manages to maintain her position. She is supported in selling drugs and alcohol by Maxxie, a childhood friend. However, she prefers to keep her distance from other students because she believes that friendships could endanger her power. While she is close to graduation, she has not yet had a succession plan, and Selah is on the verge of a breakdown.

production

Jharrel Jerome , here in May 2019, plays Selah's best friend Maxxie

Tayarisha Poe made her debut as a director and screenwriter with the film.

Lovie Simone took on the title role from Selah Summers. After All Rise and Share, this is her third role in a feature film. Her name "Selah" is a Hebrew word and means "to stop and listen" in the Psalms of the Old Testament . Jharrel Jerome plays her best friend Maxxie. The young actor played the protagonist's best friend in the Oscar-winning film Moonlight and has also appeared in the role of Jerome Robinson in the television series Mr. Mercedes since 2017 . Jesse Williams plays the headmaster Banton. Also starring are Christy Coco , Ali Fisher , Henry Hunter Hall , Ana Mulvoy Ten , Celeste O'Connor and Luke Crory to see.

Filming took place in Wenham , Massachusetts.

The music for the film comes from J-Poperin ASKA . The soundtrack album with a total of seven pieces of music was released as a download on April 17, 2020 by Lakeshore Records.

The film was shown for the first time on January 26, 2019 as part of the Sundance Film Festival . In July 2019, Amazon Studios secured the rights to the film. In early August 2019 he was presented at the BlackStar Film Festival. A screening at the AFI Film Festival is planned for November 2019 .

reception

Reviews

So far, the film has won over 88 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics and received an average rating of 6.8 out of a possible 10 points

Beandrea July of The Hollywood Reporter writes that like Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom or Sean Baker's The Florida Project , it is a film that takes the world of its youthful actors seriously, but does not feel like a YA drama . The film convinces with its unconventional and yet clear perspective and suggests a bright future for the promising young filmmaker Tayarisha Poe . Secret societies at elite preparatory schools and colleges are also taken up by films such as The Dead Poets Club and the Harry Potter franchise , but Poe interprets this genre from her point of view as a black woman who herself attended an elite boarding school in New Jersey smart way new, so July. Through Selah's strained relationship with her mother, the film also shows how young people internalize the pressure that parents and social forces exert on them.