Sundance: Apple Lands Coming-of-Age Drama 'Hala'
Parrish Lewis/Courtesy of Sundance Institute
'Hala'
The film, which was executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, made its world premiere on Jan. 26 at the Library Center Theatre.
Apple has acquired worldwide rights to Minhal Baig's coming-of-age drama Hala.
Written by Baig, the film centers on the titular character, an only child to Pakistani immigrants. With high-school graduation looming, Hala is bursting with sexual desire. When she meets Jesse, a classmate who shares her love for poetry and skateboarding, their romance is complicated by her Muslim faith and a father who is prepared to arrange her marriage according to their family’s cultural tradition.
The deal marks the first of the festival for Apple, which entered the market amid expectations that it would make an impact as a buyer.
Hala had a famous name in its corner thanks to executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith, who championed the project. Clarence Hammond, Jamal Watson and Baig produced, while Jana Babatunde-Bey, Marsha Swinton, James Lassiter, Caleed Pinkett, Ari Lubet and Aaron Carr executive produced.
Geraldine Viswanathan stars as Hala, while Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna, Purbi Joshi, Azad Khan and Anna Chlumsky round out the cast.
Hala was expanded from a short film that Baig made in 2016. The script for the feature was named to the 2016 Black List.
The inclusion rider policy was applied during production of Hala, which facilitated the hiring of women into many department head positions and 75 percent of critical below-the-line roles.
The film made its world premiere on Jan. 26 and received a spirited reception from the packed Library Center Theatre.
Endeavor repped the filmmakers.
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