00:00I joined the film because I had to join the film. I had to be a part of this story. I had to be a
00:24part of this reminder. Barry Jenkins is an incredible filmmaker. We all already know
00:31that. He didn't need an Oscar to show that, but he got it. It's funny. When I first met
00:36him through Skype, I said to him, if I don't work with you on this one, I will work with
00:42you on something. You are truly an icon. You know, he creates this space where everyone
00:48feels like they're collaborators and we're all involved. Barry just came over and gave
00:54me the biggest hug while I'm in the press line. It starts there. He has such a deep
01:01love and passion for his creative artists. I think he fills the room with love and light
01:07and you feel like you can do anything. You know, when I first got the size for this,
01:12I knew that I had to go and read the book. And so I bought the book, I read the book, and
01:16I was moved beyond words. I think a lot of the themes in the story, and especially the
01:21characters resonated in such a way that I truthfully have never really been moved before by a script,
01:28by a work. To see something like that brought to the screen and to have those words from
01:33the novel translated into a script was unimaginable.
01:38But just an incredible, incredible story. You know, it was the first James Baldwin novel
01:43that I'd read and I was blown away by the language, by the poetry, by the truth, by the honesty,
01:50you know, the brutal honesty. But also just the timeliness and timelessness of, you know,
01:59of this story. And it's something that resonated so, you know, so thoroughly with me that, you
02:06know, I really couldn't wait to jump into the role of Bonnie.
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