In this follow-up to her award-winning film THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY, Film 
Independent Spirit Awards nominee filmmaker Morrisa Maltz’s latest project, 
JAZZY, is an intimate portrait of Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, a young Oglala Lakota girl growing up in Spearfish, South Dakota, from the ages of six to twelve. When Jazzy finds out her best friend Syriah (Syriah Fool Head Means) is moving, she is confronted with the pains of growing up and the realities of the adult world. JAZZY was shot over 6 years and overall, is a
portrait of growing up, from a young girl into teenage-hood. The film is fictional but also written by Jazzy and her friend Syriah as they developed over the years and shared their experiences with us — as life happened to them. Jazzy and her peer group have dazzled us with the poetry of growing up and their ability to story tell as collaborators and actors in this film. 
The film explores the lives and ever-changing relationships of their peer group as they leave the dreamlike world of childhood behind. Director and co-writer Morrisa Maltz joins us for a conversation on how the idea for JAZZY fell into place during the filming of THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY,
seeing the natural ability of Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux blossom, trusting that the chemistry between Jasmine and Syriah Fool Head Means would come across on the screen and knowing that she had a terrific production team that includes Lily Gladstone, Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, Jason Beck, and Bill Way to carry her across the finish line.
For more go to: vert-ent.com/films/jazzy
About the filmmaker – Morrisa Maltz is an artist and filmmaker. She holds a degree in Fine Art from Columbia University. Her work has been shown at MOCA, MCASB and galleries internationally. Morrisa’s first feature documentary, INGRID, premiered on PBS in 2019 and is distributed by Grasshopper Films. INGRID was a 2018 ”Festival Gem,” and featured on Hammer to Nail’s top 20 films of 2018 as well as featured in articles by The Sundance Institute and Movie Maker Magazine. Her first fiction feature, THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY, stars Lily Gladstone (lead in Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of The Flower Moon) and premiered at SXSW 2022. The film was hailed by Indiewire as ”A Stunning Spiritual Companion to Terrance Malick and Nomadland,” and was recently released theatrically to rave reviews by Music Box Films. After the film’s theatrical release Lily Gladstone won the 2023 Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead performance in the film. Morrisa was nominated for Mill Valley Film Festival’s Mind The Gap prize in 2022 Creation Prize, and the 2024 John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. JAZZY, Morrisa’s second narrative feature will be premiering at Tribeca in June. Morrisa is represented by UTA and Color Creative.
SOCIAL MEDIA
instagram.com/verticalentertainment
instagram.com/morrisam
instagram.com/lilygladstone
instagram.com/lilhajek
instagram.com/lainey_bearkiller
instagram.com/mirandambailey
instagram.com/jayduplass
instagram.com/markduplass
instagram.com/meleslyn
instagram.com/fitviavifilm
“It’s a coming-of-age drama where the way everything is shot and paced feels like we are looking back on the fragmented memories of childhood that are at risk of fading.” – Chase Hutchinson, Collider
“This is a filmmaker who knows how to tell story by showing it, and by trusting her audience to come along for the ride. How rare that has become these days.” – Kate Erbland, indieWire
“It’s just wonderful. It put me in the mind of Andrea Arnold’s films.” – Tim Cogshell, FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
“While the film progresses to show these girls entering the next phase of growing up, it still allows them the space to regress into being silly girls with one another when they want to…Jazzy is a film about dipping your toes into the next phase of life.” – Hayley Croke, Loud and Clear Reviews
“Maltz directs Jazzy with love at its fore: Jazzy and Syriah’s love for each other and Maltz’s dedication to her protagonist who over the years has become family. The irrepressible spirit of Jazzy forms a uniquely charming and poetic coming of age tale.” – Nadine Whitney, AWFJ.org