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Jennifer Esposito was 16 years old living on Staten Island when she first had the idea for “Fresh Kill,” a gangster movie with a female perspective.
While she respects the classic super-masculine mafia genre, she’s more interested in telling the stories of the women behind the men in those films — women who are little more than window dressing.
what you need to know
- Jennifer Esposito first came up with the idea for ‘Fresh Kill’ as a teenager living on Staten Island
- She wanted to tell the stories of the girls she grew up with, many of them children of mob families, who had little choice over their lives
- She’s brought ‘Fresh Kill’ to life for the past 13 years
- ‘Fresh Kills’ premieres Friday at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival
“Then a woman’s hand comes in and like putting things, you know, pastry or hey, you want lunch, or they’re at a table in a strip club, and you see girls in a on a pole.” “I want to follow that woman. I want to follow where they stretched out their hands to the next room. I want to know what she’s thinking. I want to know how she got through it.”
This theme—women finding their voices in a world that so often tells you not to have them—has profound implications for Esposito, who feels her career has been categorized.
“It’s something that’s stuck with me my entire career. So, I’m very frustrated with the character,” Esposito said. “So, I thought okay, I have to write this, or I’m quitting. Because I’m so unfulfilled.”
Esposito has brought “Fresh Kills” to life over the past 13 years — twice mortgaging her home to fund the project, despite the challenges of bringing in a male star or hiring an experienced director. pressure, but still trying to maintain control of the project.
But like her character in the film, the process allowed Esposito to find her voice in an industry that tried to keep her confined in a box.
“I’m excited because it’s a journey. The only thing I want in this business—I don’t care about fame, I don’t care about money, I don’t care about these things—I just want to connect with people to make art and make you feel Something. Let’s talk about something. Let’s understand something,” Esposito said.
In the end, Esposito realized her dream. She makes movies that she has been spinning in her head for over thirty years—every word, every scene, every light, every sound is exactly as she envisioned it.
“I’m excited that this movie is going to the world. Because it is, and it’s everything. It’s my morning, my noon, my night, my dream,” Esposito said.
“Fresh Kills” will premiere Friday at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
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