Photo credit: Variety
Filmmaker Dee Rees might have just given Netflix one of its first Oscar contenders with her historical drama, “Mudbound”, which as of today, is available on the streaming service and in select theaters.
The film, featuring Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige (who already won a Hollywood Breakout Performance Award for her role of Florence Jackson) is, as explained by Netflix, about “two Mississippi families, one black, one white, (who) confront the brutal realites of prejudice, farming and friendship in a divided World War II era.” It’s based on Hillary Jordan’s book by the same name and Rees shares script credit with Virgil Williams.
Since the film received a standing ovation after its premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, it has received Oscar Buzz and several awards including the Hollywood Breakthrough Ensemble Award, Special Gotham Jury Award, and the Audience Award at the Middleburg Film Festival.
Writer-director Rees’ 2011 debut feature film “Pariah” and 2015 HBO drama “Bessie” also became award-winning films, and from the looks of it, “Mudbound” will be no different. And who knows, Dee Rees may very well become the first Black woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.