Middle of Nowhere follows the transformative journey of a troubled woman, Ruby, on a path of self-discovery . Directed by Ava DuVernay as her sophomore feature film, it was given a Best Director Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival and a Gala Premiere in Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live, hosted by Emmy award winning actress Angela Bassett. Greeted with a red carpet entrance, the film's cast and celebrity guests made a quick stop to chat with LA Splash about the anticipated film.
Ruby, played by Emayatzy Corinealdi, is a character who's life was altered by unexpected situations dealt by her love life. "She lost her husband to imprisonment and as a result her whole life has changed," said Emayatzy, " and throughout the film she's trying to figure out what that means to her, if it's even worth it. It's a love story."
Though the film is fictional, in some related cases it can be narrated as real life events ; especially, with familiar characters like a head strong mother played by Lorraine Touissant. "My character is definitely the matriarch of her family. She captures a complicated role of a mother and unfortunately is guilty of pushing her children away because she wants so much for them ," said Touissant about her character.
Derek, Ruby's husband played by Omari Hardwick, becomes the protagonist after becoming incarcerated for trafficking illegal firearms with best friend Rashad, played by Troy Curvey. "I'm a bad guy. I care about nothing outside of my business but when Derek goes to prison I become responsible for Ruby," said Curvey about his character.
Filed with strong female roles, Sharon Lawrence embodies the court of law. " I play the lead defense attorney for the lead characters husband but I also represent the legal system," commented Lawrence , " she also creates a moral challenge on whether someone should represent a character such as Derek."
With such a complex and heart touching narrative, one might wonder how DeVernay came to write and direct such a film. "The story of women who are waiting for incarcerated husbands is something really close to home. I grew up in Compton, and even for predominantly black or brown areas this is a reality and I just wanted to capture it in an honest way," said DeVernay.
Wining this year's Best Director award by Sundance Film Festival, it's not a shock that all cast interviewed had lovely things to say about the film's director." Working with Ava was awesome, I'm glad I got a chance to work with her. Her vision, the way she wrote it, the way she directed the film, she had one on one with everyone and every scene was important to her and in an independent film that's amazing," said Curvey about working with DeVernay.
Middle of Nowhere is a telling story of a woman, who influenced by surrounding characters, comes to find herself as her own person. Will she come to terms with the life she has been dealt or will she create a change in herself and leave everything behind?
Make sure to watch Middle of Nowhere in a theater near you October 12, 2012.
