Karen Chapman’s Village Keeper to have World Premiere at 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Among the films having its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival next month is Village Keeper, written and directed by Karen Chapman.
The cast includes Olunike Adeliyi, Maxine Simpson, Zahra Bentham, Micah Mensah-Jatoe, Oylin Oladejo, d'bi.young anitafrika, Ethan Burnett, and Shiloh O'Reilly.
With her first dramatic feature, writer-director Karen Chapman creates an emotional and authentic study of a single mother trying to hold herself together.
Jean is the provider and (over)protector of her two teen children, Tamika and Tristin, and begrudgingly lives with her mother in a crowded Lawrence Heights apartment complex. Despite the kids learning to become more self-sufficient, Jean’s vision is too clouded by the past to see that they're growing. She is haunted by violence in both their past and their present, and must help her children cope. Expertly using sound and flashbacks to construct a layered and full portrait of this woman's life, Chapman reveals the trials and tribulations that women in Jean’s family carry with them.
Producers are Enrique Miguel Baniqued and Karen Chapman. Executive Producers include Christina Piovesan, Floyd Kane, Jordan Oram, Susana Ferreira, Taj Critchlow, Molly McGlynn, Lora Campbell and d'bi.young anitafrika.
Karen Chapman is a Toronto-based filmmaker who’s an alum of the TIFF Talent Lab. She’s directed short films including Walk Good (16) and the 2019 Festival selection Measure, as well as episodes of TV shows that include Black Life: Untold Stories (TIFF ’23). Village Keeper (24) is her dramatic feature debut.