Private Project

The Hail Mary

Fighting his own personal demons, war veteran Darius moves to Montana in an attempt to repair his relationship with his grown son, Terrell. On a day significant to both, they confront their differences.

  • Nnamdi Kanaga
    Director
    Talisman, Oreva
  • Nnamdi Kanaga
    Writer
    Talisman, Oreva
  • Isreal Mckiney Scott
    Producer
    Talisman
  • Jennings Barmore
    Producer
  • Ozzie Jones
    Key Cast
    "Darius Johnson "
  • Sean Michael Harrison
    Key Cast
    "Terrell Johnson "
  • Tinesha Ersland
    Key Cast
    "Cicely Johnson"
  • Genres:
    Drama, Suspense, coming of age
  • Runtime:
    50 minutes 18 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 20, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Montana State University
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • South Dakota Film Festival
    South Dakota
    United States
    September 17, 2021
    Best Narrative Feature Film
  • Africa International Film Festival
    Lagos
    Nigeria
    November 8, 2021
    African Premiere
    Audience Choice Award
  • The African Film Festival
    Dallas
    United States
    June 4, 2021
    Best Soundtrack (Winner), Best Screenplay (Nominee), Best Poster (Nominee).
  • Montana International Film Festival
    Billings
    United States
    September 16, 2021
  • Urban Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    September 13, 2021
Director Biography - Nnamdi Kanaga

Born and raised in Lagos Nigeria, Nnamdi Kanaga is a multitalented filmmaker, writer, and actor. Having worked in Nollywood for a while as an actor, he made a paradigm shift to the United States in 2018 to pursue a graduate degree in English and his filmmaking career. In May of 2019, Nnamdi made his directorial debut with Talisman. The Hail Mary, Montana's first film with an all-black lead cast is his debut feature film and the second film as a director. Nnamdi hopes to help contribute and promote cultural/creative diversity through art and films in Montana State.

Nnamdi also holds a strong belief that he will be the first Nigerian- born and bred, to win an Oscar and an EGOT title.

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Director Statement

The Hail Mary opens with an intentional tribute to August Wilson before venturing into uncharted terrain in the investigation of black lives; disregarding clichés, insisting on, and lingering over the complexity of the human experience. The narrative of the absent black father has been over-flogged in the mainstream media for a long time. While this narrative is still true to some families within the black community, the issue is the media's dismissive portrayal of this "stereotypical reality." The Hail Mary, therefore, reveals the depth of a father who was absent in his son’s life due to circumstances in his own life, but who nevertheless had to make hard choices. Giving voice to Darius Johnson's reality and examining his "story" from a different perspective, I believe, would allow the world an opportunity to critically examine what certain fathers go through in life and why they make certain decisions, whether good or bad.