Release Date | Passing will be on Netflix on November 10
Based on the novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, Passing follows two African-American women who can pass as white and choose to live on opposite sides of the color line in 1929 New York.
Following the screening, Chaz and Rebecca spoke in-depth about Rebecca’s deep and personal connection to the story of Passing, stemming from her own family history. She also spoke to her creative journey as a first-time filmmaker, the process of bringing Nella Larsen’s celebrated 1929 novel to life on screen, working with actresses Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, and the intention of the film to not just address racial identity but gender and the responsibilities of motherhood, sexuality and the performance of femininity.
Earlier in the evening, Netflix hosted an intimate pre-reception for the film, attended by Rebecca Hall, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival co-founders Stephanie and Floyd Rance, CEO of RogerEbert.com, President of the Ebert Foundation and Executive Producer Chaz Ebert, and actress Lynn Whitfield, in addition to guests of the filmmakers and friends of the festival.
ABOUT PASSING
Synopsis | Adapted from the celebrated 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, PASSING tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York. After a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, Irene reluctantly allows Clare into her home, where she ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (André Holland) and family, and soon her larger social circle as well. As their lives become more deeply intertwined, Irene finds her once-steady existence upended by Clare, and PASSING becomes a riveting examination of obsession, repression and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities.
Acclaimed upon its premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, PASSING marks the directorial debut of Rebecca Hall, who also adapted the screenplay. The film intimately uses the notion of “passing” to explore not just racial identity but gender and the responsibilities of motherhood, sexuality and the performance of femininity. PASSING also stars Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Alexander Skarsgard; and is produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi (p.g.a.), Forest Whitaker (p.g.a.), Margot Hand (p.g.a.), Rebecca Hall (p.g.a.).
Directed By | Rebecca Hall
Written By | Rebecca Hall
Based on the novel by Nella Larsen
Produced By | Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Margot Hand, Rebecca Hall
Executive Produced By | Oren Moverman, Angela Robinson, Erika Hampson, Michael Y. Chow,
Kevin A. Lin, Ruth Negga, Tessa Thompson, Lauren Dark, Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden,
Brenda Robinson, Chaz Ebert, Yvonne Huff, Christopher Liu, Arcadiy Golubovich,
Dori A. Rath, Joseph J. Restaino, David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri
Cast | Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe,
Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Alexander Skarsgard
