Sundance hits again! The largest independent film festival in the United States, it has become virtual this year instead of celebrating in its typical Park City, Utah surroundings, it is the zero point for some of the most anticipated movies of the year. This year, a long-awaited film adaptation proved to be expected: Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Pass, adapted for the screen by the acclaimed actress and director for the first time Rebecca Hall and with Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in the main roles, was one of the great attractions of the festival. While the black-and-white film did not give up any of the festival’s awards for 2021, it has now won one of the most important distribution deals of the season, earning $ 15.75 million from Netflix for worldwide distribution rights.
Deadline he teased the acquisition on Wednesday, noting: “The film is a true statement of women’s empowerment, Hall making his debut at the helm of the novel Nella Larsen, and Thompson and Negga starred in powerful shows. Netflix has competed in a field of five providers and will make one of the best streaming awards with a theatrical distribution component. ”
Set during the Harlem Renaissance, Pass is the story of childhood acquaintances Irene Renfield (Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Negga), both black women with light skin to “switch” to white, but choosing dramatically different paths. An accidental reunion provokes even more drama, as a mutual curiosity turns into an obsession with catastrophic results. Incorporating not only colorism and the deeply dangerous phenomenon of “passing”, the film also explores white supremacy, the strangeness and identity and mobility of the black class.
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The sale of the film adaptation, which premiered last Saturday as part of the US drama competition, also stars André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and Ashley Ware Jenkins, reportedly managed by Endeavor Content . Pass was produced by Hall, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi and Margot Hand, with Thompson and Negga among the film’s executive producers. Other executive producers were Oren Moverman, Angela Robinson, Erika Hampson, Michael Y. Chow, Kevin A. Lin, Lauren Dark, Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden, Brenda Robinson, Chaz Ebert, Yvonne Huff, Christopher Liu, Arcadiy Golubovich, Dori A Rath, Joseph J. Restaino, David Gendron and Ali Jazayeri.
No news yet on when we can put Pass in our Netflix queues.