JuVee Prods’ Julius Tennon On Inclusion, Giving Voice & Viola Davis – Cannes Studio

Julius Tennon and Viola Davis’ JuVee Productions is an artist-driven indie that seeks to produce economical yet premium and character-driven stories with an emphasis on narratives from a diverse range of emerging and established voices. Tennon is at the Cannes Film Festival this week talking up Davis-starrer The Personal History Of Rachel Dupree which Good Universe is selling internationally. QC Entertainment, which is producing the title with JuVee, is co-repping North American rights with CAA.

Tennon, who is attending his first Cannes, sat down this week to discuss the new project as well as JuVee’s mission statement. “We’ve become the company that’s the voice to the voiceless. For us, everything is about inclusion… We know that these talented people exist, but opportunity is really sparse. So while we are not trying to change the industry, what we want to effect is a change so that there’s more doors opening,” says Tennon.

He adds, “It’s always good to see people of color involved. The industry is shifting. What’s happening now is that people of color across the board, not just African Americans but all people of color, want to see a reflection of themselves and there’s proof in the pudding with a lot of these films that have come out.”

QC Entertainment most recently produced and financed, with Blumhouse Productions, Jordan Peele’s box office smash Get Out, which has grossed more than $200 million at the global box office. Universal is releasing and just had a fantastic start in Korea with the title. Tennon and I touched on that film’s success as well as other recent titles like Hidden Figures and Moonlight.

Claire McCarthy writes and directs Rachel Dupree, based on the novel by Ann Weisgarber. It sees the passionately in love Rachel (Davis) and Isaac DuPree head for the Dakota Badlands, chasing their dream of a home for themselves. After years of sacrifice, Rachel finds herself looking back on her dreams as a young woman. As a series of misfortunes befall the family, Rachel loses control of her destiny and she must decide whether to follow the only man she ever loved or to strike a new path of her own.