Sarah Adina Smith’s latest will be of special interest to fans of “Black Swan” and “Bunheads”: the writer-director of “Buster’s Mal Heart” is working on a ballet drama. This calls for a celebratory plié. A press release announced that Amazon Studios and Anonymous Content have kicked off principal photography on Smith’s “Birds of Paradise.” Kristine Froseth (“The Assistant”) and Diana Silvers (“Booksmart”) star in the feature.
An adaptation of A.K. Small’s 2019 novel “Bright Burning Stars,” “Birds of Paradise” takes place at “a prestigious ballet school in Paris, where the new girl (Silvers) befriends a grieving dance prodigy (Froseth) as the dancers compete for the school’s ultimate prize: to receive a contract to join the Parisian Opera’s ballet company,” the pic’s synopsis details. “As the pressure mounts and the girls are pushed to their physical and emotional limits, their bond is tested and they’re forced to ask themselves just how far they are willing to go to win.”
Smith, who signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios last year, penned the script.
“Sarah is a talented, visionary filmmaker who we’re so happy is part of the Amazon family, and we can’t wait to bring her next story to life with ‘Birds of Paradise,'” said Julie Rapaport, Co-head of Movies at Amazon Studios. “We’re also thrilled to be working with stars Diana Silvers and Kristine Froseth who are both on the path to becoming the next household names with their undeniable talents.”
Added Smith, “I wrote these roles specifically for Kristine Froseth and Diana Silvers, who I believe are going to take the world by storm. I’m honored to take this journey with them and so thrilled to be partnering with Amazon Studios once again in pursuit of bold, unapologetic filmmaking.”
Smith’s debut feature, 2014’s “The Midnight Swim,” took home the breakthrough audience award from AFI Fest. Her follow-up, 2016’s Rami Malek-starrer “Buster’s Mal Heart,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. On the small screen, her credits include “Hanna,” “Legion,” and “Room 104.”
“I suspect that directing movies might be a lot like being a professional athlete,” Smith told us. “You have to keep your head in the game and your eye on the ball. And you can’t waste time mourning losses or celebrating wins — at least not until the game is over. Stamina, patience, precision of judgment — these are all the things I love about the job!”
When asked what advice she’d give other women directors, she said, “I would tell them to do things their own way and don’t feel like you ever have to conform to the system, because the system was largely built by men. We need to take all the good lessons from the past and from those existing systems but also not be afraid to make our own rules,” she emphasized.
