Audience members were moved to tears during the world premiere of \u201cJosephine,\u201d one of the first major revelations out of this year\u2019s Sundance Film Festival. One of the people who was blubbering at Park City\u2019s Eccles Theater was none other than the film\u2019s star Channing Tatum, who confessed that he \u201ccried five, six, seven times\u201d as he finally watched the movie for the first time.<\/p>\n
Festival-goers didn\u2019t just weep through \u201cJosephine.\u201d They also laughed and cheered during the few lighthearted moments in the otherwise heart-wrenching drama about a young girl who witnesses a brutal sexual assault at her local park in San Francisco. Tatum and Gemma Chan star as Josephine\u2019s parents, who struggle to help their young daughter as she grapples with the aftermath of the traumatic event.<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/p>\n
Beth de Ara\u00fajo wrote and directed the film about a harrowing real-life experience she faced as a child. As the director took the stage on Friday afternoon, she wiped away tears of her own as she was greeted with a standing ovation. The crowd stayed standing and clapping as de Ara\u00fajo brought out her actors, newcomer Mason Reeves, as well as Tatum \u2014 who picked up his pint-sized co-star and swung her around \u2014 and Chan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started writing this in 2014 when I realized that something happened to me when I was young that haunted me,\u201d De Ara\u00fajo said during the Q&A after the screening. \u201cI took a stab at writing about female fear, and how that\u2019s shaped who I\u2019ve become. I kept it through the eyes of an 8-year-old and how she learns about male aggression, and I took the fear to the extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s premiere was a \u201cstar is born\u201d moment for 8-year-old Reeves, whom the director discovered at a farmer\u2019s market in San Francisco. As for her first time on the set of a film, Reeves shared that \u201cwhat I liked most was all of it,\u201d which prompted laughter from the crowd. Reeves continued to charm while saying she wants to continue acting but would prefer a less-intense genre the next time around. \u201cI have five different [in mind]\u2026 the first is action, then fantasty, a musical, a movie with animals in it, and the last is one a movie filmed in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the film, Tatum and Chan\u2019s characters are forced to reprimand their daughter, who acts out as she wrestles with a newfound fear and anger that she struggles to comprehend. Tatum, who has a 12-year-old daughter of his own, admitted he was worried that Reeves wouldn\u2019t be able to differentiate pretend from reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was concerned about her actually thinking I was mad at her,\u201d Tatum said about Reeves. \u201cI was like, \u2018You know I\u2019m just acting, right?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Reeves, decked out in a sparkly silver dress, interjected: \u201cHe kept asking me about it, and I was like, \u2018I\u2019m fine!\u2018\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the audience ventured back into the cold, De Ara\u00fajo thanked everyone for \u201cengaging with something that isn\u2019t an easy sit,\u201d adding, \u201cI hope you feel like you had an opportunity to crack your heart open and give yourself the time and space to imagine a better world for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Best of Variety<\/p>\n
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