Synopsis:
1950s, USA.
Grace and her older sister spend every summer at their grandparents’ house down south. Now that she’s 16, she’s made to follow her family’s religious tradition and get baptized. When Grace learns that a repentance is required before the ritual, she begins to question the budding romantic feelings she has for her best friend, Louise.
Shot on 16mm film and set within a fleeting Summer in the Black American South, Grace exists in conversation with many works of art created in the Black Southern Gothic genre. This time though, through a queer lens that explores the interiority of a Black queer girlhood.
SELECTED film Festivals + Screenings:
•2024 Sundance Film Festival (Park City, UT)
•Nominated for Best Short Narrative Film Jury Award
•2024 NFFTY: The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (Seattle, WA)
•Won Best Cinematography Award
•2024 Palm Springs International ShortFest (Palm Springs, CA)
•Nominated for Best LGBTQ Film
•Nominated for the 2024 Oscar® Qualifying Best Short Film Under 15mins Award
•2024 Frameline Film Festival (San Francisco, CA)
•2024 BlackStar Film Festival (Philadelphia, PA)
•2024 HollyShorts Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA)
•2024 Newfest – NYC's LGBTQ+ Film Festival (New York, NY)
•Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Film Award Recipient
•2024 Chicago International Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
•Nominated for the 2024 Oscar® Qualifying Best Short Film Award
•2024 Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival (New York, NY)
•Honorable Mention
•2024 Indie Memphis Film Festival (Memphis, TN)
•2024 Torino International Film Festival (Turin, Italy)
CREDITS
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Starring: Jordan Rayanna Wells, Alexis Cofield, Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew, CL Simpson, JeVon Blackwell
Written, Directed, and Produced by Natalie Jasmine Harris
Director of Photography: Tehillah De Castro
Editor: Harry Cepka
Color: Kya Lou
Production Design: Jai Monee'
Composer: Taul Katz, Damsel Elysium
Produced by Samiyah Wardlaw, Morgan Powell, Latavia Young, Julia Kennelly, Natalie Jasmine Harris
Executive Producers Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Dr. Debra A. Bright, Fanshen Cox, Natalia Bougadellis
This film was produced with support from The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) Pitch Competition, The Future of Film Is Female, The Frameline Completion Fund, Kickstarter’s Creative Capital x Skoll Creator Fund, Scout Film Festival's Emerging Filmmakers Grant, The Inside Out RE:FOCUS Fund, and Creative Culture at The Jacob Burns Film Center.