By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The “coming of rage” story about the dark side of the immigrant experience will premiere next year.
Shudder gets rolling on RAGING GRACE, written and directed by BIFA nominee Paris Zarcilla (pictured), in the UK this November. Max Eigenmann and David Hayman star in the movie, in which “an undocumented Filipina immigrant [Eigenmann] lands a job as a careworker for a seemingly terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she’s strived for and holds dear.”
“RAGING GRACE will be the first British-Filipino feature in British cinema history,” Zarcilla says. “Growing up Southeast Asian in London, I was taught to assimilate, to excel but not to stick out, to aspire to whiteness and white approval, to be the model minority, a good immigrant, to not rock the boat. Writing this film terrified me because it goes against everything my Asian parents taught me about assimilation. To make this film is to approach a place of trauma and horror. That is what it is to approach the master’s house. It’s about challenging old and new white power; it’s about smashing through the barriers that have held back East and Southeast Asian talent; it’s about raging gracefully. RAGING GRACE is a cathartic spectacle that explores the trauma of being an undocumented worker, but most importantly, a celebration of Filipino culture and our place in this world. Here’s to dismantling the master’s house, and thanks for AMC Networks and Shudder for giving me the platform to do it.”
Adds producer Chi Thai: “RAGING GRACE is a rare and exciting alignment of all my personal and professional principles and values as producer, a working mother and a refugee. Working with Paris has been and will continue to be an incredible creative adventure. My hope is for this film to be the spark that triggers an uprising of British East and Southeast Asian filmmaking on a global stage. Instrumental in making this happen has been AMC Networks and Shudder–our formidable partners who have empowered us to share our vision without compromise.” RAGING GRACE will debut on Shudder’s North American, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand platforms in 2022.
