“Selah and the Spades” was one of our most anticipated titles of Sundance this year. The teen drama received strong reviews out of the fest — with a 100 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes — but we hadn’t heard any updates about the feature or acquisition news since. It seems that something major was in the works all along. Amazon Studios scored worldwide rights to Tayarisha Poe’s feature debut and “is in the process of developing an original series” based on the pic with Poe set to write, direct, and produce. Variety broke the news.
Set in a prestigious boarding school, “Selah and the Spades” tells the story of Selah Summers, a star student and the leader of the school’s most powerful faction, the Spades.
“I found the experience of attending boarding school to be, in retrospect, incredibly specific and fascinatingly odd. I wanted to capture the essence of that experience while also crafting a story that was filled with kids who looked like me and who did — to be frank — whatever the fuck they wanted to do,” Poe told us. “I wanted to write a story starring a bunch of kids of color who were limited only by themselves. I wanted them to be powerful and dangerous and larger than life.”
“I’m thrilled that ‘Selah and The Spades’ has found a home with Amazon Studios, and doubly excited to see the world of The Haldwell School expand and develop in the serial format,” said Poe in a statement. “I’d always hoped to work with a company that realized the multi-format potential of this fictional world, and truly we have found the ideal partners with Amazon.”
Matt Newman, co-head of movies at Amazon Studios, added, “‘Selah and The Spades’ is a fun and addictive story that immediately draws you in. “I’m so excited to bring filmmaker Tayarisha Poe into the Amazon Studios family — she has such a unique and beautiful style of storytelling that young audiences everywhere will fall in love with, just as we have.”
When we asked Poe her advice for other women directors, she said, “You know what the fuck you’re doing, and if you don’t, you’ll figure it out. You’re supposed to be here,” she emphasized. “Your voice is what we need. Don’t ever let the status quo tell you otherwise.”
