Wes Miller shot “Wildcards” almost like a play. One location, a rapid schedule, scenes running in long, uninterrupted takes. That approach suits the story: a courtroom drama about the trial of a man accused of assaulting a Black woman, where a prosecutor and a defense attorney face off in front of a jury split by bias and doubt. The film just won Best Narrative Feature at the 2026 Essence Film Festival and stars Leon as defense attorney Greg Sims and Elise Neal as the only Black woman on the jury.
Ahead of its theatrical release, Leon and Elise Neal sat down with BLEX Media’s Dot Saint-Fleur to talk about shooting the film in real time, the chaos happening behind the scenes in the jury room, and what justice actually looks like both on screen and off.