Pretty Red Dress
Black masculinity is investigated with a compassionate and assured hand in this debut feature from Dionne Edwards, as a family of Black Londoners have their world shaken by the purchase of a lovely, rhinestoned red dress.
Travis, newly paroled from prison, returns home and quickly discovers everything's changed while he's been away. His girlfriend Candice still works at the local grocery store but keeps getting callback auditions for her dream role playing Tina Turner in a new West End musical. Meanwhile, their young teen daughter Kenisha bristles against the offensive taunts of her classmates, leading to a number of visits to the headmaster's office while also straining her relationship with mum. When Candice notices a pretty red dress, she knows it would be the perfect outfit for her next audition, only it's too expensive. Travis takes a dishwasher job at his older brother's restaurant in order to buy the dress and surprise her with it. But instead of being the solution to their family's problems, the dress creates even more when first Candice, then Kenisha, unexpectedly come home and discover Travis wearing it. Suddenly, their homelife becomes a lot more complicated as uncomfortable truths are laid bare with comedic aplomb. Set against the backdrop of South London and humming with the energy of iconic Tina Turner songs, director Dionne Edwards' exhilarating debut feature pulsates with verve, humor, and compassion.
- Director: Dionne Edwards
- Principal Cast: Natey Jones, Ben Caplan, Alexandra Burke, Temilola Olatunbosun, Nicholas Bishop, Eliot Sumner
- Premiere Status: US
- Country: United Kingdom
- Year: 2022
- Running Time: 110 min.
- Producer: Georgia Goggin
- Screenplay: Dionne Edwards
- Cinematographers: Adam Scarth
- Editors: Andonis Trattos
- Music: Hugo Brijs
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: English
- International Sales: Protagonist Pictures