Richmond-shot film based on local novel eyes Sundance
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Amelia Lang (left) played Roberta in the short film and Robin Farmer (right) wrote "Malcolm and Me." Photo: Courtesy of Hilary Kehoe
Richmond-area writer Robin Farmer spent 20 years trying to bring her story about a Black teenager navigating 1970s Philadelphia to the big screen — while keeping it her own.
Why it matters: Local nonprofit Oakwood Arts finally helped it happen this year, turning Richmond into the home of a film headed for the major festival circuit.
The big picture: The result is "Malcolm & Me," a proof-of-concept short film based on Farmer's historical fiction novel about 13-year-old Roberta Forest, who finds guidance in Malcolm X's autobiography after an incident with a Catholic school nun.
- The film — which includes people who worked on "Succession," "Stranger Things" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" — is now in post-production after a four-day shoot in March.
- And they're eyeing Sundance, Tribeca, Martha's Vineyard and the NAACP Image Awards.
- "I mean that's the dream, right?" Farmer told Axios. "If we don't have dreams, what's the point?"
Zoom in: The film was shot entirely indoors in a Church Hill home and an old school (now used as a church) to evoke 1970s Philadelphia on a tight budget, Farmer said.
- "It just took me back," said Farmer, a Hanover resident and director of the Virginia Screenwriters Forum who grew up in Philly, of the Church Hill set.
- "I just couldn't stop grinning."
The backstory: Farmer wrote "Malcolm and Me" as a screenplay inspired by real-life events in 2006, the same year she said she sent it over to Keke Palmer's then-agent, who ultimately passed on the project.
- Farmer turned the story into a novel in 2020, and Hollywood interest later resurfaced. But when a deal would've meant giving up too much, Farmer walked away.
- Then, Oakwood Arts' executive director Shannon Castleman reached out last summer, offering a full crew, equipment, casting director, production budget and assurance that Farmer would keep creative control.
- "I know it's crazy that we're coming to you and we're going to spend $100,000, and it's totally going to be your vision," Castleman told Axios she recalls saying. "But that's what we're going to do."
How it works: The nonprofit's mentor model has industry pros show trainees everything — from budgets to legal agreements — and then builds a pipeline where they can go on to help hire future trainees.
What they're saying: "The best part of this whole deal is that I had young people helping me tell a story for young people," Farmer said, her voice breaking as she remembered what it was like "seeing it play out again."
What's next: Castleman said Oakwood Arts is still fundraising for post-production as arts funding faces political pressure.
- "Richmond has a lot of artistic talent here, a lot of people who love movies," the film's editor Adam Lapallo told Axios. "We don't have the resources of an LA or New York or Toronto ... so most of the things we do, we pull them together ourselves."