The Deadline Studio at Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-23 at Hotel Park City, 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 Park City.
YOUNG. WILD. FREE.
Section: Next
Director: Thembi L. Banks
Screenwriter: Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmeir
Logline: Being a teenager is rough, and Brandon (Algee Smith) is no different. Between struggling in school, caring for his two younger siblings, and having just been let go from his job, Brandon often uses his art as an escape from the confines of his subdued day-to-day life. Enter Cassidy (Sierra Capri), a bedazzled bad girl dripping in confidence, freedom, and danger. Lured in by her whimsy, Brandon teams up with Cassidy, seamlessly slipping into the role of Clyde to her Bonnie as they make their way down an increasingly perilous path.
Panelists: Banks, Smith, Capri, Sanaa Lathan
Sales Agent: Confluential Films
Premiered: January 22, Library Center Theater
Key Quote: On inspiration for her wild gal Cassidy, Capri tells us, “I have a few girlfriends, but one in particular, she’s very wild, she does whatever she wants. She acts before thinking. One particular story that actually inspired me to use her as an inspiration for the character: We were in New Orleans and a moving ambulance was going down the street, and she jumped on the moving ambulance and she’s like ‘Sierra, come with me, come on.’ I’m like omigod, you’re Cassidy the person I’m going to play for the next few weeks.”
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival takes place from January 19-29. Follow Deadline’s complete coverage of the deals and the doings in Park City here.
