For non-athletes, is there such a thing as leaving behind a high school legacy? The movies always tell us that there is, that any popular student can be remembered for generations to come. In Sundance favorite Selah and the Spades, the leader of one school’s most powerful clique sets out to make sure she isn’t forgotten, long after she’s gone.
Writer/director Tayarisha Poe’s stylish Selah and the Spades was one of the most talked-about films at Sundance 2019. Much of the attention was focused on its star, Lovie Simone, who plays Selah, queen bee of a Pennsylvania boarding school’s most powerful faction. When love starts to interfere with her reign, Selah decides to make he new girl in class he protégée.
Also in the cast are Emmy-winner Jharrel Jerrome (When They See Us), newcomer Celeste O’Connor, Gina Torres (Firefly), Ana Mulvoy-Ten (House of Anubis), and Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy).
Amazon Prime will debut Selah and the Spades on April 17th.
SYNOPSIS: In the closed world of an elite Pennsylvania boarding school, Haldwell, the student body is run by five factions. Seventeen-year-old Selah Summers (Lovie Simone) runs the most dominant group, the Spades, with unshakable poise, as they cater to the most classic of vices and supply students with coveted, illegal alcohol and pills. Tensions between the factions escalate, and when Selah’s best friend/right hand Maxxie (MOONLIGHT’s Jharrel Jerome) becomes distracted by a new love, Selah takes on a protégée, enamored sophomore Paloma (Celeste O’Connor), to whom she imparts her wisdom on ruling the school. But with graduation looming and Paloma proving an impressively quick study, Selah’s fears turn sinister as she grapples with losing the control by which she defines herself.
