'Antebellum' actor Tongayi Chirisa says horror film will highlight 'plight of Black men and women in America'
Tongayi Chirisa may not be a name you’ve heard a lot. But the way this Zimbabwean actor’s career is headed, you soon will. Probably a lot. Most recently, Chirisa appeared in what is considered one of the best movies of 2020 so far, ‘Palm Springs’. But his association with much-anticipated films doesn’t end there for this year yet. Chirisa is soon to appear in a mind-bending horror film, ‘Antebellum’.
Chirisa spoke to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about his experience with ‘Palm Springs’ and his upcoming film as well. About the infinite time-loop romantic comedy, Chirisa said, “It was a really fun set to work on. The director Max Barbakow was very lax and encouraged us to play with the scenes a bit. This definitely gave us an opportunity to maybe find something else in the scene, which was exciting.”
He said, “I am a huge Andy [Samberg] fan and I have watched pretty much everything he has been in. I am a fan of the time-loop genre, and I like my mind to be challenged a bit when watching such films… I think with ‘Palm Springs’, it tackles some deep philosophical themes that would require more than a 90-minute film to explain -- which they did a great job of, especially the calculus/quantum physics/theorem jargon -- but in context to the narrative storylines, it implores us to never give up hope, especially when you’re fighting for the one you love, even if it’s in a timeless world… eventually, you will win the girl!”
Speaking about his character Jerry in the film, Chirisa said, “He was a breath of fresh air! Honestly, I think Jerry complimented the storyline beautifully, and with the time he had on screen, I think he was compelling enough for the audience to understand him and see a complete arc of his character.”
Speaking about ‘Antebellum’, Chirisa said that it is a psychological thriller about a Black woman, played by Janelle Monáe, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it is too late.
In ‘Antebellum’, a successful author called Veronica Henley finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present and future -- before it’s too late. The film, just like Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’, is said to have racial undertones, aside from being a horror feature. The title itself is an indication of that.
The ‘Antebellum’ trailer paints a surreal picture. The film trailer skips between the present and a pre-abolition American past as we see Monáe’s Veronica Henley go from a successful author to a slave on a cotton farm. The film definitely has supernatural elements to it, and as the trailer promises, heavy racial undertones. But it also has creepy children in long empty hallways, reminiscent of ‘The Shining’.
“Working on this project was a gift,” said Chirisa. “And to work with Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, two amazing filmmakers, just added to the already dynamic experience.”
He said, “What fans should expect is -- expect the unexpected. It will definitely set a tone for unpacking even further the race relations in America and shed light on a conversation that has frankly taken too long to be resolved. Hopefully, with the visual imagery, this film project will highlight more succinctly the plight of the black man/woman in America.”
Post-‘Antebellum’, Chirisa is all set to begin filming season 2 of the Netflix series ‘Another Life’.
‘Antebellum’ was first scheduled to release on April 24 but the coronavirus pandemic led to it being moved to August 21, before it was left “undated” by Lionsgate. The horror film is now scheduled for digital release in America on September 18. A theatrical release is still planned for international audiences.