Hope Tala’s Italianate modernity

The promo starts the best way any music video could; with a young woman holding a sword.

There’s a richness to this film, a golden hue as if every shot were in some great manse at precisely the right time for the light to strike an ancient chandelier. The texture of Cherries is really unmistakable, and the gorgeous quality of the film detail comes through as Hope Tala sits in still-life perfection among the sets. 

The cast and crew were made up of mostly women, and women of color like director Anna Fearon were in positions of agency throughout the production. Both Tala and Fearon wanted to make sure that the work behind the scenes, and from Greatcoat Films, matched the talent on screen. The result is an intimate film that never exploits the imagery of women but relies on it to emphasize power.