BPS 235: Inside the Soulful Sundance Hit Nine Days with Edson Oda

I had the pleasure of watching acclaimed director, Edson Oda's
knockout feature directorial debut, Nine Days. And I absolutely
loved it. With the COVID shock, the world has experienced and
still going through, this film centers the conversation of
existentialism and depicts it quite distinctly. 

Oda's supernatural drama film, Nine Days was shot at the peak of
the Pandemic in isolated Utah, starred Black Panther's star,
Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, Bill
Skarsgård, David Rysdahl, and Arianna Ortiz.


The film is about an interviewer named Will, who spends his days in
a remote outpost watching the live POV on TVs of people going about
their lives. He interviews five unborn souls to determine which one
can be given life on Earth, until one subject perishes, leaving a
vacancy for a new life on earth. Soon, several candidates - unborn
souls - arrive at Will's to undergo tests determining their
fitness, facing oblivion when they are deemed unsuitable. But Will
soon faces his own existential challenge in the form of
free-spirited Emma, a candidate who is not like the others, forcing
him to turn within and reckon with his own tumultuous past. Fueled
by unexpected power, he discovers a bold new path forward in his
own life.

Oda who is a Sundance Screenwriters Lab Alumni took the film home
(to Sundance) and premiered Nine Days there in January 2020. It
went on to win the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in February of
2020 and earned two Independent Spirits Awards nominations.

The Japanese-Brazilian director and writer made his start in São
Paulo advertising scene and later completed his master’s at USC in
Film and Production. Oda has produced and directed several films,
commercials, and music videos. 

In 2013, he directed and wrote a short film, Malaria which is about
a young mercenary who is hired to kill Death. Malaria combines
Origami, Kirigami, Timelapse, nankin illustration, Comic Books and
Western Cinema.

Besides top-notch commercials for companies like Philips, Movistar,
InBev, Whirlpool, Johnson & Johnson, Honda, Nokia, he's
also a Latin Grammy-nominated director for best music video
Tempos de Maracujá.

Nine Days was released in the US on July 30th, 2021 and I am
excited to see how well-received it is about to become. I am
predicting it may even win an Academy Award. Yes. It is that
fantastic!

Please enjoy my conversation with Edson Oda.

Become a supporter of this podcast:
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.