Kyanna Simone is stepping behind the camera. The actress, known for her roles in Searchlight’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, Netflix’s Project Power, Ma, White Boy Rick, All American, and more is making her directorial debut with the short film Gumball, currently in preproduction in Atlanta ahead of a fall shoot.
Joining her is Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who will produce and star in the film alongside Simone. The collaboration marks a reunion for the two actresses, who previously shared the role of Odette in Searchlight’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.
Inspired by Simone’s own life, Gumball follows a young woman who finally sits down with her estranged father to say the words she has been carrying since she was nine years old. Told through a colorful lens of magical realism and childlike wonder, the film explores parental estrangement, identity, grief and acceptance.
“Making this project with Aunjanue is such a priceless and exciting experience,” Simone said. “She was initially a creative sounding board for me while I was writing the film and soon came on to produce and star alongside me. Her visual insight and creative instincts have pushed me to continue growing as a writer and artist. I’m learning so much from her, and it feels incredibly special to have someone who has been both an inspiration and a friend guiding me along the way.”
The film is also the flagship project under Simone’s newly launched production company, Cree’s Legacy Productions, named in honor of her late grandmother. “Cree’s Legacy Productions is named after my grandma. We called her CreeCree as a joke, and I am her legacy,” Simone said. “My grandma, Evelyn, lived her life meaningfully as a preacher’s wife and overnight nurse, touching and saving lives. Cree’s Legacy Productions’ mission is to touch lives through film and television by telling stories of Black joy, self-identity, and perseverance, with an emphasis on spotlighting female talent both in front of and behind the camera.”
For Simone, the project has been six years in the making, rooted in the sudden loss of her father in 2020. “When my dad died suddenly in 2020, I struggled to maintain that childlike sparkle,” she said. “I had more questions than answers, and it felt wrong to be asking them of a man I had never really gotten the chance to know. Eventually, I learned that I am allowed to grieve him, love him, and be upset with him all at the same time. My hope is that anyone with an experience similar to mine can feel seen and inspired to move past the demand for closure and instead reframe it as acceptance.”
Co-producers on the project include Anita Hogans, Senaite Murray and Yolanda Rogers with Timothy Richardson handling the film’s cinematography. Additional cast and crew details will be announced as production moves forward.
Gumball is set to shoot this fall in Atlanta.