Tayarisha Poe’s “Selah and the Spades” is officially making its way to the big screen. According to Deadline, Poe is helming the film from her own script, marking her feature directorial debut. The filmmaker, a 2016 Sundance Institute Knight Foundation Fellow, has received development support from Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters, Directors, and Creative Producing Labs and Catalyst Forum for “Selah and the Spades.”
Cinereach, IFP, TribecaAll Access, The Leeway Foundation, and Small But Mighty Arts are also backing the film.
Set at a Philadelphia boarding school, “Selah and the Spades” centers on the separate factions that run things. “The most powerful faction is The Spades, and Selah (Lovie Simone, ‘Greenleaf’) is its 17-year-old hammer,” the film’s synopsis details. “With the end of the school year approaching, Selah is confronted with the reality of a future without control as the new sophomore at school, Paloma, journeys deeper into The Spades. As Paloma begins to lead in a different direction from her predecessor, the student begins to outshine the master and Selah becomes determined to reassert her power, no matter the cost.”
Celeste O’Connor (“Wetlands”), Jharrel Jerome (“Moonlight”), Ana Mulvoy Ten (“American Crime”), Gina Torres (“Suits”), and Jesse Williams (“Grey’s Anatomy”) also star.
Lauren McBride, Argent Pictures’ Jill Ahrens, and Secret Engine’s Lucas Joaquin and Drew Houpt are producing “Selah and the Spades.” Chaz Ebert, Jenifer Westphal, Julie Parker Benello, and Nancy Stephens Rosenthal are among the exec producers.
“We are extremely excited to be supporting one of the most creative new female voices in filmmaking. Tayarisha has been recognized among her peers and industry veterans as a creative force emerging within the next generation of filmmakers,” stated Ahrens. “Her film, ‘Selah and the Spades,’ tells an unapologetic story that not only provides a recognizable and powerful character for young women but for an entirely new generation that is seeking honest and relatable stories.”
“I am so excited that we are this much closer to sharing ‘Selah and the Spades’ with the world,” McBride added. “Tayarisha’s vision is so unique and specific, it has inspired me every day over the time we’ve spent working together to bring it to life. I’m proud of the team we’ve gathered and grateful to the exceptionally talented cast that has committed to this film.
Poe was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2015. Last year she was accepted to Sundance’s Screenwriter’s and Director’s Labs. She is a 2017 Pew Fellow. Before “Selah and the Spades,” Poe wrote and directed short “Honey and Trombones” and worked as the still photographer on Anna Rose Holmer’s “The Fits.”
