Sing, Unburied, Sing

TYPE

Narrative

Documentary Feature

STATUS

in pre-production

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A surreal family drama and modern ghost story, SING, UNBURIED, SING follows 13-year-old Jojo and his mother Leonie on a gripping, epic road trip through Mississippi's past and present.

LF TEAM POV

SING, UNBURIED, SING, the bestelling and multiple award-winning novel is now ready for production as a feature film staring Taylour Paige as Leonie, Samuel L. Jackson  as Pop, and Jamie Bell in the role of Michael.

The film is based on Macarthur Genius winner Jesmyn Ward’s best-selling novel of the same name. Specific accolades include the 2017 National Book Award for Fiction, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and a sweep of The New York Times, TIME magazine, and President Barack Obama’s 'best novel of the year' lists. 

On top of this incredible package, the breakout directing duo of Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer will helm the film, coming off their two prior acclaimed collaborations including God's Creatures, which was released by A24 following its premiere at Cannes 2022, and The Fits, which premiered at Venice and Sundance, and went on to win an Independent Spirit Award. 

Longtime Level Forward collaborator Riva Marker will produce.

TIMING

To be produced summer 2024.

CREATIVE TEAM & ATTACHED TALENT

CAST

SYNOPSIS

A surreal family drama and modern ghost story, SING, UNBURIED, SING follows 13-year-old Jojo and his mother Leonie on a gripping, epic road trip through Mississippi's past and present.

Although they think they have nothing in common, Leonie and Jojo share a gift—they've both inherited the ability to commune with the dead. As they head toward the haunted Parchman prison, they encounter spirits urging them to grapple with the horrors of their family history and repair their broken relationship. Will Jojo and Leonie be able to reckon with the past, themselves, and each other, before it's too late?

The film revolves around one fundamental question: how do we let go of the pain of the past, but hold on to what it's taught us?

IMPACT THEMES

Generational Trauma
Racial Justice

IAG INSIGHTS

Coming soon

Director/producer impact vision

Coming Soon

IMPACT STRATEGY

Sing, Unburied, Sing excavates history, and in doing so provides us with a table that is set for some of the most pertinent questions of our time. It is a delicate, beautiful, and precise line between pain and privilege, and how people walk that line to carry themselves, their families, and their communities forward. Haunting, tender, brutal, poignant and with a reverence of nature, we plan to explore the concept of family, how it can mean so many things, none of them right or wrong, and how the bonds of family are the sustenance of life—here and now, and maybe later too. 

We know the film will engage audiences on so many levels, so above all, we need to provide resources that are adaptable and accessible. Black bodies, too often pained, will animate with joy, love, and care in this film, and using SING to demonstrate a variety of states and emotions will be a big part of the campaign as we aim to shift the mindset around family, Black families, and all families; what we share, what we seek, what we are, and can be—if only we could see it the way Jojo and Leonie can. 

VIDEOS

Additionally INFORMATION

OTHER WORK BY THIS CREATIVE TEAM

  • The Fits (Co-Written by Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer // Directed by Anna Rose Holmer)
  • [God's Creatures](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.aa231cb6-1646-45f8-9006-09f21e5ae015?ref=imdbrefttwbrovfpvspiv&tag=imdbtagttwbrovfpvspiv-20)_ (Co-Directed by Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer)