HAIL MARY
Section: Narrative Spotlight
Directors: Rosemary Rodriguez
Screenwriter: Knate Lee
Logline: Hail Mary is a genre-bending retelling of the Mary and Joseph story that begs the question – who are the real monsters? Maria, a 17-year-old girl from Belize finds herself mysteriously pregnant. We find her walking, following the north star to safety across the US/Mexican border. She’s escaping a deadly virus and being chased by the right-hand man of the devil – BAAL. She meets Jose, a mediocre carpenter who helped build a tunnel under the Rio Grande. They join forces with Gabrielle (the Angel Gabriel) and face off against Baal, the cartels, and US Border Patrol. This subversive monster movie might find unexpected fans cheering for an undocumented migrant making it safely across the border.
Sales Agent: CAA
Panelists: Natalia del Riego, Benny Emmanuel, Angela Sarafyan, and Rosemary Rodriguez
Premiered: March 13, 2023
Key Quotes: del Riego: “Maria is someone who sees herself as average—that makes me emotional because I’ve been there. The story goes from being, ‘I don’t know what I’m capable of,’ to, ‘Wait, I can change the world.’ That’s what I love about Hail Mary and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
Sarafyan: “That’s the reason I wanted to do the movie because I think that very idea that we judge people based on status, it’s the opposite message here. It’s the things that you cannot see, a person’s values, integrity, strength, and heart—you can be homeless and have nothing, and you can change the world. I think the message of this film is quite beautiful.”
The Deadline Studio at SXSW runs March 10-13, where the cast and creatives behind the best and buzziest titles in this year’s lineup sit down with Deadline’s festival team to discuss their movies and the paths they took to get to Austin, Texas.
Benny Emmanuel, Natalia del Riego, Rosemary Rodriguez & Angela Sarafyan
