Festival Predictions

2019 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: #73. Selah and the Spades – Tayarisha Poe

Published on November 22, 2018

Receiving a ton of support along the way, the micro-budgeted Selah and the Spades went into production this summer in Tayarisha Poe‘s backyard of Philly. She was a Sundance Institute Knight Foundation Fellow in 2016 and her feature project Selah and the Spades went on to receive development support from Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters, Directors, and Creative Producing (for producer Lauren McBride) Labs and Catalyst Forum; Cinereach, IFP, and TribecaAll Access. Cast comprised of Lovie Simone, Celeste O’Connor, Jharrel Jerome, Jesse Williams, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Gina Torres. Anecdote we learned: Poe was a stills photographer on The Fits.

Gist: In Selah and the Spades, factions provide everything the students need to navigate the challenges of adolescence. The most powerful faction is The Spades. With the end of the school year approaching, Selah (Lovie Simone) 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.

Production Co./Producers: Lauren McBride, Secret Engine’s Lucas Joaquin and Drew Houpt (Frankie), Argent Pictures’ Jill Ahrens (They Fight).

Prediction: NEXT section or U.S Dramatic Comp.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic). TBD (international).

Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).