Park Benched: Beth de Araújo Completes “Josephine” with Gemma Chan & Channing Tatum

A film project delayed due to the pandemic, that was pushed back slightly and then leapfrogged when she shot and premiered SXSW title Soft & Quiet, it’s been confirmed that Beth de Araújo is currently in post-production (and probably gunning for a 2025 Sundance 2025 berth) with her sophomore feature. It’s been confirmed that Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan toplined Josephine — production took place this past April in San Francisco. One of our favorites in Philip Ettinger and Syra McCarthy also star while the centerpiece role belongs to newbie Mason Lily Reeves. Animal Kingdom’s David Kaplan (It Follows, It Comes at Night and more recently, executive producer on The Sweet East) is producing alongside Araújo.

Initially, this was set up with producers Kyle Martin and Rodrigo Teixeira – both might still be involved. Workshopped at the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs back in 2018, Araújo took this sobering true-life experience and made into a sobering storytelling event you can listen to below. Here is the synopsis:

After accidentally witnessing a rape in Golden Gate Park, eight-year-old Josephine is plunged into a maelstrom of fear and paranoia. Surrounded by adults helpless to assuage her and unable to understand her, she acts out with increasing violence, searching for any way to regain control of her own safety.