Antebellum, a Racial Thriller Starring Janelle Monae, Hits On Demand Friday, Sept. 18
Antebellum was always meant to be a stunning and mind-bending mystery that unfolds as a metaphor for the current climate of racism. And for Bush and Renz, the chance for their artistic statement to help shape, reflect, and define this moment – to spur a dialogue and to change and broaden our understanding of the world around us – was irresistible.
“When we conceived Antebellum, we did not – could not – envision the way that systemic racism would break through to force the meaningful conversation we desperately need. But it has,” says Bush. “What we did intend was for the film to force the audience to look at the real-life horror of racism through the lens of film horror. We’re landing in the middle of the very conversations that we hoped Antebellum would spur. So to release the film in this environment is all we could ask for – as artists, we’re grateful to have the opportunity to add our voices in this cultural moment.”
Antebellum centers on Veronica (Janelle Monáe), a Ph.D. sociologist and bestselling author whose books explore the disenfranchisement of black people in the U.S., which has long been written into the country’s DNA. She’s devoted to her loving husband Nick and young daughter Kennedi, both of whom she must leave to travel to New Orleans, where she’s to speak at a talk. There, her empowering words remind the audience members that though Black people are often expected to be seen and not heard, their time is now.
What Veronica doesn’t yet realize is that fate has chosen her to save us from our past – and to uncover a horrific secret that connects her to a Civil War era enslaved woman, Eden (also played by Monáe), toiling in a perfectly manicured cotton field amidst stifling, omnipresent heat, as the Civil War rages around her and others laboring under inhuman circumstances. Across time and different worlds and eras, Eden and Veronica find themselves enveloped in life-altering circumstances.
For eight-time GRAMMY®-nominated singer and actor Janelle Monáe, the decision towork with first-time directors was a canny one: an activist herself, Monáe chose a project that promised to work within the horror-thriller genre to deliver a challenging and thought-provoking movie that would not end for the audience when the credits rolled. “Christopher and Gerard’s script was a conversation starter around race, politics, what it means to be an American, and what the American Dream means today – all in a thriller unlike any I’ve seen before,” she says.
Monáe also points to the film’s more horrific moments. But instead of relating supernatural events, Antebellum spins a tale of real-life terrors. “The concept of silencing black people is pure horror,” she explains. “Chris and Gerard leaned into the framework of a psychological thriller to depict these horrors.”
Antebellum also stars Eric Lange (Escape At Dannemora), Jena Malone (The Hunger Games), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Kiersey Clemons (Lady and the Tramp), Oscar nominee® Gabourey Sidibe (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Best Actress, 2009), Marque Richardson (Dear White People), Robert Aramayo (upcoming series Lord of the Rings), Lily Cowles (Roswell), and introducing Tongayi Chirisa (The Jim Gaffigan Show).
The film is written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. Produced by Raymond Mansfield, p.g.a. (Get Out, BlacKkKlansman), Sean McKittrick, p.g.a. (Us, Get Out), Zev Foreman, p.g.a. (Dallas Buyers Club), Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, and Lezlie Wills, p.g.a.(All Rise). The behind-the-scenes team also includes executive producers Alex G. Scott (Booksmart), Kenny Mac, and Edward H. Hamm, Jr., director of photography Pedro Luque Briozzo, SCU (Jacob’s Ladder), production designer Jeremy Woodward (Thoroughbreds), film editor John Axelrad, ACE (Ad Astra), three-time Academy Award® nominee costume designer Mary Zophres (including The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Costume Design, 2018), composers Nate Wonder and Roman GianArthur, music supervisor Christopher Todd Mollere, and casting by Laray Mayfield.
Lionsgate presents, a Lionsgate production, a QC Entertainment production, a Zev Foreman/Bush|Renz production.