Strive (film) explained

Strive
Director:Robert Rippberger
Story:Sha-Risse Smith
Starring:Danny Glover
JoiStaRR
Chelsea Lee Williams
Shaylin Becton
Ricky Flowers Jr.
Music:Warryn Campbell
Cinematography:Dominick Sivilli
Editing:Gabriel Cullen
Studio:Aletheia Films
Prodigium Pictures
Runtime:82 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English

Strive is a 2019 American independent coming-of-age drama film. Set in Harlem, the film tells the story of Kalani Johnson (JoiStaRR), a driven 18-year-old high school student who dreams of getting accepted into Yale University while facing the challenging life in the projects and streets of Harlem - with her only ally being college counselor Mr. Rose (Danny Glover).

The film premiered at the Harlem International Film Festival in May 2019.[1] [2] In June 2019, it screened in competition at the American Black Film Festival in Miami,[3] [4] and won the Jury Award for "Best Screenplay".[5]

Cast

Production

Pre-production for the film began at Aletheia Films and Prodigium Pictures in early 2017.[6] Writer Sha-Risse Smith set out to make an inspirational film: "I wish I had a film like this when I was going to boarding school. [...] I want people to watch this and say, if Kalani can do this I can too."[7] Glover joined the film in pre-production as Mr. Rose, a pivotal character for the film.[8]

Strive was shot on location in Harlem later that summer, hiring cast and crew that was mostly New York City-based. The events of the film loosely take place around the housing projects of the Polo Grounds Towers in Coogan's Bluff. The namesake for the film is Striver's Row. Filming took place in and around both of these locations. Residents and community leaders of Harlem were consulted to the choice of locations and depictions of characters.

Post-production happened in Los Angeles, with Company 3 providing the coloring of the film. Campbell composed the music for the film, while JoiStaRR sang the closing song of the film.

Reception

Accolades

Strive received the Audience Award, while JoiStaRR received the Best Actress Award at the Harlem International Film Festival and the film screenplay was awarded the Jury Award at the American Black Film Festival in 2019.[9] [10] It was screened at the San Francisco Black Film Festival in June 2019,[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] at the Black Harvest Film Festival in Chicago in August 2019,[16] at the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival in Ohio as well as the opening film for The Valley Film Festival in Los Angeles in September.[17] [18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Harlem International Film Festival » Closing Night – Double Feature. harlemfilmfestival.org. 2019-05-20.
  2. Web site: 2019 Harlem International Film Festival Announces Lineup. 2019-05-09. Film Pulse. en-US. 2019-05-21.
  3. http://www.abff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-ABFF-OFFICIAL-SCHEDULE.pdf
  4. Web site: American Black Film Festival. FilmFreeway. en. 2019-09-25.
  5. Web site: American Black Film Festival announces 'Best of ABFF' winners. Wills. Cortney. 2019-06-17. theGrio. en-US. 2019-09-25.
  6. Web site: Strive. 2017-04-13. Prodigium Pictures. en-US. 2019-05-22.
  7. Web site: Interview with Robert Rippberger and Sha-Risse Smith about their upcoming movie, 'Strive'. MarkMeets Entertainment, Music, Movie and TV News. 4 June 2018. en-US. 2019-05-20.
  8. Web site: Danny Glover joins Harlem drama Strive. 2018-06-02. Flickering Myth. en-US. 2019-05-20.
  9. Web site: Harlem International Film Festival » 2019 Awards. harlemfilmfestival.org. 2019-05-20.
  10. Web site: 2019 Award Winners. ABFF. August 12, 2020.
  11. Web site: San Francisco Black Film Festival » Healing the world one film at a timeSchedule 2019 | San Francisco Black Film Festival . 2019-07-04 . 2019-07-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190704190904/https://sfbff.org/wordpress/schedule-2019 . dead .
  12. Web site: Official Selections 2019. 2019-05-13. San Francisco Black Film Festival. en-US. 2019-05-22.
  13. Web site: The Slate of Films in Competition Announced for the 2019 American Black Film Festival. American Black Film Festival. en-US. 2019-05-22.
  14. Web site: The Films in Competition Announced For The 2019 American Black Film Festival. BWW News Desk. BroadwayWorld.com. en. 2019-05-28.
  15. https://sfbff.org/wordpress/awards-ceremony/2?fp_element=1495520021573&fp_row=1495520021573&fp_template=posts123
  16. Web site: At 25 years old, the Black Harvest Film Festival still schwings. Gronvall. Andrea. Chicago Reader. August 2019. en. 2019-09-25.
  17. Web site: Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival Film Schedule. en. 2019-09-25.
  18. Web site: Valley Film Festival begins in NoHo Arts District Saturday. 2019-09-20. Daily News. en-US. 2019-09-25.