Amazon and Blumhouse doled out a high-dollar amount of $7 million for Nanny at the Sundance Film Festival last year, and now Nikyatu Jusu is ready to show off to the public what turned out to be a big hit with major film lovers.
Amazon published a trailer for the piece on the company’s YouTube channel today. It sheds light on the psychological fable of horror a Senegalese immigrant experiences in New York City while haunted by the young son she left behind. The main character becomes unsettled by the family she works for’s violent home life, and eventually, the discord creeps into her dreams.
“Spirits are trying to warn you, do not ignore the signs.”
The piece is Jusu’s first feature-film writing and directorial effort. It stars Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, and Morgan Spector. Producer Jason Blum has referred to the project as a crown jewel and he reportedly fell in love with it upon seeing it. Several moments from the trailer suggest the main character will be struggling to distinguish the abnormal from her reality, and, at one point, what appears to be a spider drops from the ceiling onto Diop’s face, though the final lines suggest this may not be certain.
“I wish I knew what is happening to me.”
Jusu’s short film, Suicide by Sunlight, was nominated for awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In March, she said she was pleased to partner with Amazon and Blumhouse to see her work included alongside other bold projects. Jusu’s television experience includes an episode of Two Sentence Horror Stories for the CW network in 2017.
Nanny will receive a theatrical release Nov. 23 and arrives on Amazon Prime Video Dec. 16.