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Logline

When Jazzy learns that Syriah is moving away, she confronts the heartbreaks of growing up and the realities of the adult world. A spiritual successor to their previous film, The Unknown Country, Maltz’s collaboration with producer Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux results in an emotionally resonant coming-of-age drama that deeply immerses the audience in the lives of these two young girls.

Synopsis

Jazzy is a portrait of Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, a young Oglala Lakota girl growing up in Spearfish, South Dakota from the age of 6 to 12 alongside her best friend Syriah. When Jazzy finds out her best friend is moving, she is confronted with the pains of growing up and the realities of the adult world. The film explores the lives and ever changing relationships of their peer group as they leave the dreamlike world of childhood behind, from their own unique perspective.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Morrisa Maltz – Writer/Director/Producer
Morrisa Maltz is an artist and filmmaker. She holds a degree in Fine Art from Columbia University. Her work has been shown at MOCA, MCASB and galleries internationally. Morrisa’s first feature documentary, INGRID, premiered on PBS in 2019 and is distributed by Grasshopper Films. Ingrid was a 2018 ”Festival Gem,” and featured on Hammer to Nail’s top 20 films of 2018 as well as featured in articles by The Sundance Institute and Movie Maker Magazine. Her first fiction feature, The Unknown Country, stars Lily Gladstone (lead in Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of The Flower Moon) and premiered at SXSW 2022. The film was hailed by Indiewire as ”A Stunning Spiritual Companion to Terrance Malick and Nomadland,” and was recently released theatrically to rave reviews by Music Box Films. After the films theatrical release Lily Gladstone won the 2023 Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead performance in the film. Morrisa was nominated for Mill Valley Film Festival’s Mind The Gap prize in 2022 Creation Prize,and the 2024 John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. Jazzy, Morrisa’s second narrative feature will be premiering at Tribeca in June. Morrisa is represented by UTA and Color Creative.

Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux – Writer/Producer/Cast
Lainey has been a part of Jazzy and The Unknown Country since its earliest days. After meeting director Morrisa Maltz, the two began a friendship and regular discussions and the films began to take shape. Lainey’s insight led to the creation of “Tana” the lead role of em>The Unknown Country and “Jazzy” the lead role of Jazzy based on her daughter Jasmine. She was integral in story development and production of both films. Additionally, her knowledge and experience with Spearfish and surrounding areas helped the film seamlessly blend into some of its primary settings. Lainey and her other daughter Daliyah also portray themselves in Jazzy.

Miranda Bailey – Producer/Cast
Miranda Bailey, CEO of Cold Iron Pictures, has produced over 20 films, including Independent Spirit Award-Winner DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL starring Kristen Wiig and Bel Powley, God’s Country starring Thandawe Newton, and Split at the Root, distributed by Array. Bailey is a co-founder of the film distribution company, The Film Arcade, and The CherryPicks, a website dedicated to amplifying the voices of female/non-binary critics. She is an accomplished actress and director who has appeared opposite Richard Gere, Parker Posey, and Ben Stiller. On the directing side, her debut documentary, Greenlit, premiered at SXSW in 2010, and her first narrative feature, Being Frank, starring Jim Gaffigan and Anna Gunn, premiered at SXSW in 2018. Miranda Bailey executive produced The Unknown Country starring Lily Gladstone which received praise from The Gotham Awards and The Spirit Awards. She has partnered with director Morrisa Maltz to produce the follow up film Jazzy which will debut at Tribeca 2024.

John Way – Producer
John Way is an actor and producer who has worked on several celebrated award-winning films and television shows. He has appeared in films that have played at Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, and Telluride. As a Producer and executive, John works closely with filmmakers to develop and produce artist-driven work. John produced the Tribeca-bound film Jazzy from filmmaker Morrissa Maltz and featuring Lily Gladstone, and is currently collaborating and producing with several other filmmakers for film and TV. John graduated with a BFA from Carnegie Mellon and studied at LAMDA and RADA.

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Contact

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