Selah and the Spades: Online Q&A with director Tayarisha Poe

Event Recording

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Guests Expected

Writer/director Tayarisha Poe is expected to participate in an online Q&A.

Description

Catty, territorial high school cliques are at the center of this fresh film by Tayarisha Poe. Selah Summers (standout newcomer Lovie Simone) is a senior at her private school and the head of one of five school-run factions, The Spades. Her reign is coming to an end as graduation approaches and as her group starts to fray she finds herself willing to defend her legacy at any cost. Sassy and smart, with style to burn, Poe’s debut feature is an exhilarating addition to the canon of high-school dramas. Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us) co-stars.

“Like Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom or even Sean Baker’s The Florida Project, it’s a film that takes the world of its teenage characters seriously, but doesn’t feel like a YA drama. Quietly confident in its unconventional yet clear point of view, Selah and the Spades signals a bright future for a promising young filmmaker.” –Beandrea July, The Hollywood Reporter

Watch Selah and the Spades on Amazon Prime, then join us for an in-depth conversation with writer/director Tayarisha Poe in which she will discuss the making of this rousing debut feature film.
 
Members who RSVP for this event will be sent a link via email one day in advance to register for the online session, which will be conducted with Zoom. We recommend that you download and install Zoom on your computer or mobile device in advance, and set yourself up with a free account. Attendees will have a chance to participate in the Q&A with a text chat function. Registration closes around one hour before the start of the event — be sure to register early!
 
We look forward to experimenting with virtual events like this in the coming weeks — let us know how it goes and how we can improve the experience!
 
Learn more about how to use Zoom and attending our virtual events here.

Writer/director Tayarisha Poe

Prior to making her debut feature Selah and the Spades, Tayarisha Poe directed a short, Honey and Trombones (2012) and created heroine Selah Summers in a multimedia collection of short films, short stories, and photos entitled Selah and the Spades: an overture. In 2015, she was named one of Filmmaker Magazine‘s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and she was one of Variety‘s 2019 “10 Directors to Watch.” She has taken part in the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriter and Directors Labs.

“I am always eager to see stories about the marginalia of black girl life, about the mumblecore minutiae of being a human being. In film — and in all Western storytelling — there is this awful assumption that only the relatable, ‘every man’ story can be successful, and therefore must only be the only story told, with white characters at the center of it, and that’s just not my jam.” –Tayarisha Poe, Women and Hollywood

Film Details