From Stage to Screen: Playwright & Filmmaker Aleshea Harris

Playwright Aleshea Harris made her feature film directorial debut with IS GOD IS, adapted from her Obie Award-winning play of the same name. On the day her film opened in theaters, Aleshea sat down with host Paola Mardo to talk about her jump from playwriting to writing and directing a film with an all-star cast including Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Vivica A. Fox, Sterling K. Brown, Janelle Monáe, and Erika Alexander. She also talks about how she worked with producers Tessa Thompson and Janicza Bravo to bring her play to the big screen, how the story subverts genre expectations, and how her roots in spoken word poetry and theater sharpened her writing style.

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(00:00) A revenge thriller with humor
(02:21) From theater play to feature film debut
(11:24) Making the film with Tessa Thompson and Janicza Bravo
(16:12) Casting and directing the twins in IS GOD IS
(19:03) Vivica A. Fox as God and Sterling K. Brown as The Monster
(22:14) Working with the music composers
(32:37) Her origins in theater and spoken word poetry
(36:24) Aleshea’s writing process
(40:14) How Rihanna inspired IS GOD IS
(41:56) Her playwriting vs. filmmaking process
(44:48) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza
Associate Producer and Sound Recordist: Celine Mendiola
Production Coordinator: Joy Woo
Production Assistant: Ben Caloza
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz