Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Thembi Banks Discusses Her Feature Debut ‘Young.Wild.Free’ & The Rewarding And Unglamorous Aspects Of Indie Filmmaking

Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast. I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline.

Today, we’re talking to television and film director Thembi Banks about her directorial debut film Young.Wild.Free, which premiered at Sundance and stars Algee Smith, Sanaa Lathan, Sierra Capri and Mike Epps. The film is produced by Charles D. King, James Lopez, Poppy Hanks, Tommy Oliver, Baron Davis, and Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, and was written by Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier.

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Young.Wild.Free follows Brandon (Smith), who between struggling in school, caring for his two younger siblings and having just been let go from his job, tends to use his art as an escape from the confines of his subdued day-to-day life. Enter Cassidy (Capri, On My Block), a bedazzled bad girl dripping in confidence, freedom and danger. Lured in by her whimsy, Brandon teams with Cassidy, seamlessly slipping into the role of Clyde to her Bonnie as they make their way down an increasingly perilous path.

Banks is an award-winning writer-director from Harlem, New York. Her directing work includes episodes of Insecure and The Sex Lives of College Girls. She also wrote on the Emmy-nominated series Only Murders in the Building. She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia Performing Arts High School where she majored in theater. She has an MFA from USC’s Film and Television Production Program.

On today’s episode, Banks and I discuss what it’s like as a director working on the East Coast vs. the West Coast, what life has been like since her film premiered at Sundance, and the unglamorous aspects of indie filmmaking.

If you like what you hear, be sure to review, like, and subscribe to the Scene to Seen Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart.

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