Shiva Baby

Shiva Baby is a 2020 comedy film directed by Emma Seligman. An international co-production of the United States and Canada, the film stars Rachel Sennott as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her family. Other attendees include her successful ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon), and her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) with his shiksa wife Kim (Dianna Agron) and their screaming baby. It also features Fred Melamed and Polly Draper as Danielle's parents Joel and Debbie, with Jackie Hoffman and Deborah Offner in supporting roles.

Shiva Baby
Rachel Sennott as Danielle in Shiva Baby
Directed byEmma Seligman
Produced by
  • Kieran Altmann
  • Katie Schiller
  • Lizzie Shapiro
Written byEmma Seligman
Starring
Music byAriel Marx
CinematographyMaria Rusche
Edited byHanna A. Park
Production
company
  • Dimbo Pictures
  • It Doesn't Suck Productions
  • Bad Mensch Productions
  • Thick Media
  • Neon Heart Productions
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 15, 2020 (2020-03-15) (SXSW)
Running time
77 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish

Adapted from Seligman's own 2018 short film of the same name, it premiered online at the 2020 South by Southwest film festival, while its first public screenings were at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly before TIFF, it was picked up for distribution—and plans to have a wide release in 2021—while continuing to play at international film festivals. The events of the film take place almost entirely in real time and at one location as Danielle explores her romantic and career prospects under the intense watch of her family, friends, and judgmental neighbors.

The film and its cast were universally praised by critics. It is praised for its bisexual and Jewish representation, while being described as accessible for all audiences, and for effectively conveying the anxiety-inducing claustrophobia experienced by Danielle. Seligman was praised for successfully drawing up tension within the film, especially considering it as her feature directorial debut, and won several awards for her screenplay. The score by Ariel Marx, likened to that of a horror film, was also positively received.

Plot

College senior Danielle and her sugar daddy Max have vocal sex before she hurries to arrive at a shiva with her parents, Joel and Debbie. Outside her aunt Sheila's suburban New York home, where the shiva is being held, Danielle is schooled by her mother on how to respond to questions about her disorganized life, particularly being warned away from "funny business" with high school friend Maya. Within the claustrophobic house, members of the local extended Jewish community compare her to Maya, who is adored by the neighbors and heading to law school. Maya hovers in the periphery wherever Danielle is, and then confronts her over the buffet. Max, who is a former colleague of Joel's, arrives, and Debbie insists on introducing them with the hope that one of Max's relatives will hire Danielle. The perfect life story she told him is dismantled, but she flirts with him. Debbie pulls Danielle away and reveals that Max is married – Danielle excuses herself to help Sheila cater to the guests.

Overwhelmed by prying neighbors, Danielle is further affected by the arrival of Max's seemingly perfect but non-Jewish wife, Kim, and their baby, Rose. Hiding from the couple, she is pushed into an exposed nail, cutting her leg. When she is removing her ripped tights in the downstairs bathroom, she decides to take a topless selfie and send it to Max; disturbed by someone knocking, she leaves her phone by the window as she pulls her shirt back on. She begins anxiously drinking as she finds herself unable to look away from Max, Kim and Rose, then goes to clean vomit from an adjacent room. Maya comes to help, catching Danielle looking over at Max. She mistakes the gaze as one directed at Kim, using their apparent shared attraction as a segue to attempt to gauge Danielle's interest, while Danielle tries to dismiss Kim's attractiveness and success.

Danielle is reluctantly introduced to Kim, who is interested in making conversation with and hiring her, also revealing that she funds Max's bachelor lifestyle. As the life he fed to Danielle and her parents is brought down, Max leaves to fetch coffee. Danielle insults Kim, who starts to become suspicious of her. When Max returns, he spills coffee on Danielle, leading her to have a heart-to-heart with her mother. Maya tries to talk to Danielle, but Max interrupts the two; annoyed, Maya loudly reveals that she and Danielle have had sex, while Max tries to work out if Danielle is romantically interested in him. Danielle follows him to the upstairs bathroom and tries to give him a blowjob but he leaves. Upset, Danielle goes outside to escape everyone, finding Maya smoking by the side of the house. The two admit that they miss each other and passionately kiss. Maya is excited but finds Danielle's phone in the bathroom and reads notifications from the sugar baby app; angry, she taunts Danielle about the phone without revealing where it is. Danielle's anxiety grows when she encounters Kim again, having a measured conversation before she suggests that Max uses their vacant SoHo apartment as a bachelor pad. When Kim asks if Danielle has a boyfriend or girlfriend, Joel starts talking about her past failed love life and the nearby guests begin to sing the same song they did when she was a baby; the attention she receives makes her feel infantilized and she stressfully imagines Kim singing along and flaunting her relationship with Max.

The guests then gather to say prayers, with Rose screaming until Kim takes her away. Max follows Danielle into the kitchen afterwards, and they discuss ending their arrangement; Kim appears and tells Max they should go home. Moments later, she finds Danielle to return her phone and ask for her help to feed Rose. Danielle tries to refuse as Max arrives and fights with Kim, knocking over a vase; Danielle has a breakdown on the floor in front of the guests. Everyone is persuaded to ride home in Joel's van. The baby continues shrieking as Joel struggles to find the keys and Maya and Danielle affectionately hold hands.

Cast

Production

Development
[In college] I originally wanted to do some sci-fi dystopian thing and my professor was like "Why don't you just do something that you know?" And I felt removed enough from my Jewish community in Toronto that I could write about it.

– Emma Seligman[1]

Shiva Baby is an expansion of writer-director Emma Seligman's 2018 short film of the same title, which she had made as her thesis project while studying film at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[2][3] The title of the film refers both to Danielle and to Rose, Max and Kim's unhappy baby.[4] Seligman said that it was "pretty early on that [she] thought that it had the potential to expand",[5] though she "didn't feel motivated until [she] talked to [lead actress Rachel Sennott] about it".[1] The feature film entered production just before the short premiered at the 2018 South by Southwest.[6] While developing the feature, Seligman re-watched Gia Coppola's film Palo Alto, her favorite female-directed film, saying that she has "never seen a film so accurately portray the suffocating and debilitating nature of young female insecurities" like it.[7] Other inspiration came from the Coen brothers, Joey Soloway's Transparent, John Cassavetes, and Mike Nichols;[5] Seligman also took writing inspiration from Jewish romantic comedies.[1]

The producers and Seligman sought funding for the feature for a year with little interest, including asking people outside of the film industry to be investors, before filmmaker Amanda Kramer, a friend of Seligman, put them in contact with Rhianon Jones of Neon Heart Productions, who became an executive producer; more producers became interested with Jones attached.[7] The producers, who knew each other from film school, had been made some offers from companies that had requested more creative control over the film in return, which Seligman said was the prospective financiers "not really feeling like they could trust [her] and [her] filmmaking abilities to pick the team that [she] wanted and whatnot".[8] Most of the financing came from outside funding and independent funding from people the production team knew. Seligman told Women and Hollywood that using primarily one location was also a financial decision. The film's budget came in under $250,000.[7] Producer Kieran Altmann said that the competitive filmmaking market in New York helped with budget, as "vendors probably gave [them] a 90% discount on regular gear rental rate"; the crew were also all friends of the producers, and most took a cut in their usual rate.[6] Seligman said that the transition from a short thesis film to a successful feature "feels like a dream [and] almost sounds seamless, like the kind of thing that most students or first-time filmmakers would hope for".[5]

Themes
I feel like it's pretty universal – a lot of young women, young people, not having self-worth beyond sexual validation. I think it's something that hindered my self-acceptance in college, since it's something I focused a lot of energy on.

– Emma Seligman[9]

The short film had been based on a fictional scenario combining Seligman's "uncomfortable and funny" experience of shivas and the community of women she knew who were sugar babies at NYU. When it came to expanding the story to a feature, she chose to also draw on her own sexuality (Seligman is bisexual and Jewish);[10] the desire to showcase more of the character of Danielle and her bisexuality is a reason Seligman chose to make the feature.[11] She has said that "if no one [watched] this movie except for some young bisexual women who feel seen, then [she would] feel like [she had] done [her] job",[12] and explained that she wanted to expand on this aspect of the main character "to show that Danielle's queerness and bisexuality is another thing that sort of isolates her within the community" while also enabling the creation of the ex-girlfriend character to serve as a foil[8] and to give the film "some redeeming silver lining". She was also interested in exploring Max and Kim's relationship,[5] and Debbie and Danielle's mother-daughter relationship, further, and in expanding on the central theme of Danielle finding her self-worth through sexual autonomy but "realizing that's not as powerful as she thinks it is".[9] Variety compared the presentation of an empowered young woman to other screenplays in the same season and their focus on strong female characters. Features editor Malina Saval wrote that the film shows through Danielle how a "pressure to be perfect manifests itself in women long before marriage and kids come into focus" and explores how the power of sex is only limited.[13]

Karina Solórzano for the Los Cabos International Film Festival wrote that Shiva Baby has "the same elements as some of Woody Allen's most popular films – including the Jewish family and multiple lovers – but Seligman has her own vision and offers something different", and that it "follows the contrarian path promoted by [...] Disobedience, directed by Sebastián Lelio [but] this is not the central point of the plot; Seligman does not treat the [queer] protagonists as exceptional or disobedient".[14] Solórzano also compared the themes of youth to those of Booksmart, and the tension to that of Uncut Gems, and discussed the relevance of other themes in the film, including Danielle's insecurities; the oppressive nature of a familiar house; the cultural and religious conflicts surrounding Danielle's sexuality; complex female relationships; and the honesty that comes with family gatherings.[14]

Casting

Seligman said that casting posed a challenge; the film focuses on both queer and Jewish culture, so she wanted to find actors who would "feel authentic to the material". She added that "it did matter that there were Jewish people in this film, but it didn't feel necessary that everyone was Jewish [...] if there was someone who was perfect for the role but they weren't Jewish, I wanted myself to be open to that".[15] Casting director Kate Geller "turned to the New York Jewish theatre community" for most of the cast.[16] Due to the low budget, they looked to only cast actors based in New York City,[17] with the exception of Fred Melamed, whom the production flew out from Los Angeles. Melamed had accepted the role based on reading the script alone.[18] Without Seligman knowing, several of the cast already knew each other, such as Melamed and Polly Draper being friends from Yale School of Drama, which she used as an advantage on set,[17] though Draper had originally been intended to play a different role in the film.[18]

Interviewed by NOW, Seligman said that to create the characters she "worked with the actors to round them out and create some three-dimensionality, and they were all very willing to do so".[16] Draper improvised on-set for her character a lot, as well as adding elements through discussions with Seligman. Draper played the protagonist's mother as someone who intuitively knew that there was more going on in her daughter's life; Seligman was reluctant to let Draper include this, but said she is glad she allowed Draper to play that part of the character because it brings a mother's perspective she does not have herself.[18] Melamed, who "[stuck] to the script word for word", was the only principal actor to not ad lib during filming, though the production did not have time for full improvisation.[9] The characters in the film are all seen through the relatable eyes of Danielle, who is the movie's "way in".[16]

After she played the role in the short, Rachel Sennott was kept on as main character Danielle. Altmann said that after Seligman formed a collaborative bond with Sennott working on the short, Seligman "never even thought about casting someone else".[6] Seligman said that she found it important to keep Sennott, but knew that she "was not a star" and so the production needed to "stack up the rest of the cast" with bigger names;[17] Altmann similarly noted that some people looking to finance the film asked the producers to consider replacing Sennott with a bigger name, but that they "really stuck to [their] guns and found collaborators and investors and filmmakers that believed in Rachel [Sennott] and Emma [Seligman] and the vision as a whole".[6] Sennott, playing the bisexual Jewish leading role, is neither queer nor Jewish, but Seligman found she fit the part; comparatively, Dianna Agron is a Jewish actress playing the only character in the film who is not Jewish.[15][19] Joshua Arispe for Loud and Clear affirmed that Agron "finds no challenge in departing from [her] roots and culture to play the outsider".[19] The question of Jewish characters being portrayed by Jewish actors had become more prominent in 2018 with the success of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,[15] and a response at the time cited Agron and her ironic past roles as overtly shiksa and Christian characters as a reason why more representation of Jewish performers is not needed.[20] Discussing the additions of Agron and Molly Gordon to the cast, Seligman said: "I just want to see more queer Jews, especially queer female Jews, on screen, and I want to see them leading genres that we don't often get to see led by women in general".[10]

Gordon was cast without a chemistry read with Sennott, and they only met the day before filming began; Seligman said that for Gordon's part as Maya she was looking for someone who could bounce off Sennott and work with her to portray the long and complex history their characters share, despite not knowing each other.[21] She also discussed exploring the character of Danielle with Sennott in preparation for the feature, saying that Sennott "was really interested in exploring in each scene where her power lies. [They] were interested to see what happens when she acts on that power or when she loses it."[9]

Filming
Filming took place in a suburban area of New York City's Flatbush neighborhood.

Shiva Baby was filmed in August 2019[6] in Flatbush, Brooklyn.[1] Director of photography Maria Rusche used an Arri Alexa XT camera to shoot the film in fullscreen 2K resolution and Apple ProRes 4444 format, with Kowa anamorphic lenses as well as a 10:1 Cooke Cinetal zoom lens. About half of the film was shot handheld. Rusche discussed her choices with IndieWire's Chris O'Falt, explaining that to capture the anxiety in the film from the cast playing off each other she wanted an anamorphic lens so that multiple characters can remain in shot together, through the wider field of view, while still being distinguished from background characters thanks to the lens' depth. They also wanted to utilize natural image distortion to emphasize Danielle's anxiety, and tested different anamorphic lenses before shooting; Rusche said the effect of the Kowa lenses "helped make it feel like the walls could literally cave in on her" and had "a good balance of edge distortion without falling apart or losing too much sharpness at the edges".[22]

To create the feeling of claustrophobia for the audience, Seligman worked with Rusche and took inspiration from films including Krisha, Black Swan, and Opening Night. To not allow the feeling to become stale or repetitive, she directed Sennott to "look like she's suffocating but sort of [...] try to stay chill and try to stay like above it all".[21] Seligman said that she and Rusche had initially considered shooting the film like a romantic comedy, but "the anxiety hook was what [they] found to set the tone for most of the process".[5] Critics Allyson Johnson, Ricardo Gallegos, and Stephen Saito gave positive reviews of the film's cinematography and how it successfully conveys the claustrophobia experienced by Danielle,[23][24][25] while David Nusair for Reel Film instead noted that it "never becomes as claustrophobic as one might've assumed," but explains this is positive, saying it "is undoubtedly due almost entirely to an impressively propulsive narrative".[26]

Filming in one house, there was limited space and only one room for the actors to take breaks in that was accessible; the production filled it with AC units. The cast and crew were close while filming, with Sennott "constantly goofing around with [the] producers" and Agron bringing Jewish snacks for everybody on set.[1] The film takes place in one location during one day,[1] and Seligman said that some of the main struggles related to continuity, particularly working with many actors in a small space and over long periods of time with gaps in filming.[21] She explained that while they were lucky to manage to get the caliber of actors the film features, working around the cast's schedules meant that actors could be performing across from crew members instead of their scene partners on shooting days;[7] the production had sixteen days to shoot and only "two days when [they] had the entire [principal] six-person cast together at the same time".[9] To work around this, the same extras would be scheduled for the same scenes in each room and the cameras would be angled to avoid seeing into other spaces, Seligman described it as "like a game of Tetris".[9]

Another struggle was the baby playing Rose, who would not stop crying, making it difficult to film. Seligman said this was a "learning experience" that caused her to rework some scenes to fit in a crying baby,[21] referring to one scene as a "Simba baby" moment that had to be rewritten as a "monster baby" moment.[27] She explained that the crying could only be resolved by the actress playing the infant's mother: "Queen Dianna Agron really just was a baby whisperer. I don't know how she did it." This proved necessary for some scenes where the baby needed to be silent for the tone of important moments to be appropriate.[21]

Music

In a Q&A for Frameline Film Festival, Seligman and Agron discussed the music in the film. Seligman said that she was uncertain if she wanted to use a score for the film when going into production, but decided to do so when she realized that she really wanted to "highlight Danielle's anxiety" and push the limits of the comedy genre.[27] A Frameline programmer described the score as a "repetitive stringed attack"; the style was Seligman's choice, and she wanted it to have strings to reflect Klezmer music.[27] Ariel Marx came on as composer and took on the challenge of making a horror score for a comedy movie, with Seligman saying they went through trial and error to get the right sound. She added that it was difficult to make music that was Klezmer-like and not just Klezmer, and that Marx "nailed that sweet spot".[27] Marx also suggested adding the score to some parts of the film it had not originally been intended, which Seligman said was successful in making it more stressful.[27]

Music is also used in the story when some characters sing to Danielle. This wasn't planned, but suggested by Draper, who had sung the song to her own children. Seligman explained that she was having an anxious morning when Draper mentioned the idea, but still accepted it so as to break up scenes of Danielle being swarmed by the women at the shiva. Agron, who did some of the singing, said that it was her favorite part of the shoot because it was "the most playful" she got to be in the film and she liked the way Seligman chose to shoot it with different characters coming in and out of focus, comparing it to Rosemary's Baby.[27]

The score received positive reviews. Saito described the score as Marx's version of the Jaws theme, praising it.[24] Jude Dry for IndieWire wrote that the "tense string score ratchets up the tension, though this technique loses its bite after a few too many uses",[28] while Katie Rife also complimented it, calling it "Harry Manfredini-esque".[29] Andrew Parker's praise also touched on the score's horror-like qualities, saying it worked well for its contribution to the claustrophobic storytelling.[30]

Release

The film was slated to premiere at the 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival; following that festival's cancellation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead screened digitally in April 2020.[31] The production had initially entered the film to Sundance, the typical route for such independent films, and though they were given an extension on submission to work on post-production, the film – which did not have any music at the time – was not accepted.[6] In 2019, IndieWire had included the unfinished film on its Sundance wishlist, saying it "has Sundance breakout written all over it".[32] Altmann said that while it is disappointing to be rejected from a festival like Sundance, the team had put more hopes on aiming for SXSW, as it is where the short premiered and they felt the film was more tailored for this festival.[6]

It was also screened digitally at a variety of festivals, including the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2020,[33] and at both the 2020 Deauville American Film Festival[34] and the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September.[35] In place of live events, it received cast and director Q&A sessions via video links,[36][37][38][39] and had its first physical screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox.[40][1] In September 2020, just before its TIFF run, Utopia acquired distribution rights to the film.[41] Seligman knew of Utopia after they distributed Mickey and the Bear, a friend's film which shares a producer (Lizzie Shapiro) with Shiva Baby, and knew that they would be filmmaker-focused and collaborative.[21] In October 2020, the film sold streaming rights for several countries, not including North America, to MUBI.[42] In the same month, Seligman said that the film would have a wide release in 2021, without being certain if this could only be through video on demand or not.[16]

Some critics commented on the film having its festival releases amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with Katie Rife of The A.V. Club saying that it "deserves to rise above the flood waters" of displacement[29] and Danielle Solzman (Solzy at the Movies) commending the cinematography that made her feel in the scene despite watching on an app from home.[43]

Critical response

As of January 11, 2021, Shiva Baby has a 97% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 38 critic reviews[44] and a 79% approval rating on Metacritic.[45] Alexandra Heller-Nicholas of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists wrote that the film "is something very special indeed".[46] James Kleinmann of The Queer Review called it "a masterclass in tension and comic timing". He concluded that the film is "unmissable".[47] Ella Kemp of We Love Cinema said it is an instant classic and "one of the most infectiously enjoyable coming-of-agers in years",[48] and Harris Dang of The AU Review called it "one of the funniest films of 2020".[49] Brian Bromberger of The Bay Area Reporter said it "may be one of the best bisexual films ever made", also deeming it "unmissable at all costs",[50] and Alex de Vore of the Santa Fe Reporter said that the ending is "one of the most meaningful moments of hope ever captured on film".[51] Madeline Ducharme of Slate's Outward called the film and character Danielle "a step forward for bi representation on screen",[12] and diversity-focused Incluvie's Aspen Nelson said that it "will be remembered as a crucial film of youthful Jewish representation in cinema."[52] In the critics poll of the TIFF line-up, it placed second for Best Screenplay behind One Night in Miami.[53] It was included in the Letterboxd editorial Best of the Fests 2020 list,[54] and at the end of 2020 was featured on several year-end best film lists,[55][56][57][58] as well as some listing the best unreleased or upcoming 2021 films.[59][60][61][62] Sennott's performance was noted as one of the best breakouts of the year.[59][63]

The film was praised both as and despite being a feature debut.[29][43][19][64][65] Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter says it may be a "softer" version of the Coen brothers' A Serious Man, adding that this is "not a shabby comparison for a first film to conjure". Though he made the suggestion that the film could have explored some of its themes deeper, he acknowledged that "frustration feels like a churlish response to a debut as assured as this one".[66] It also received positive reviews for its handling of modern topics. Nelson wrote that it "takes a fresh perspective on the [messy millennial] trope that mirrors experience and compels emotion".[52] Critics were impressed that the film does not present Danielle's sex work negatively,[52][67] and Allyson Johnson of The Young Folks felt that while the film is ostensibly coming-of-age, "what makes [it] so instantly transcendent of some of its contemporaries is how much it acknowledges that, despite Danielle's initial presentation, she's still just a brat sometimes".[23] Others noted that while the film is rooted in its Jewish identity, it is relatable and its awkward comedy universal.[64][68] There was some criticism that the film struggles to maintain its runtime, with Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail feeling that it gets stretched long but that "the concept and the laughs hold strong" until the end;[69] others felt that the length was perfectly suited.[24][70] Jason Gorber of /Film wrote that the "brisk 77 minute running time means the film never overstays its welcome, despite the fact that it's literally a film about desperately wanting to leave."[71]

The cast, including Dianna Agron and Fred Melamed, received praise for their performances.

Various critics praise the characters and ensemble cast at the film's center.[66][23][72][30][28] Juan Antonio Barquin of the Miami New Times wrote that it captures anxiety through the performances, that the "ensemble embodies the exact level of passive aggression one might expect from people who are as uncomfortable around each other as they are invested in their growth".[73] For The Film Stage, Zhuo-Ning Su compared the ensemble to that of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, calling the cast a "group of comedic genius".[74] Frosch commented that Seligman's script may lean too much into stereotypes, but this is mitigated by the talented cast.[66] Kleinmann and Nusair heaped praise on Sennott as the lead with an outstanding and scene-stealing supporting cast.[47][26] In the lead role, Sennott was highlighted in several reviews,[46][70] with Andrew Parker of The GATE saying that she gave "a wonderful, star making performance"[30] and de Vore writing that "after her performance in [the film], she should probably just be allowed to do whatever she wants – she's a natural."[51] Sennott was named one of the seventeen best performances of TIFF 2020 by Seventh Row.[75]

Others looked at the chemistry of Sennott and Gordon's characters, which Frosch said was "thanks in large part to the actresses' spiky screwball chemistry",[29][66] and highlighted other actors. Meghan White's review for AwardsWatch particularly focuses on the complex female characters. She gives praise to Seligman's writing and Agron's performance of "Max's impossibly elegant wife, Kim", the representative of all things Danielle is not, saying that "in a film written and directed by a man, Kim could've easily been a caricature. Instead, she's treated with empathy: agony flits across her perfect face and leaves as quickly".[72] Ricardo Gallegos of La Estatuilla instead marked out from the cast Melamed as Danielle's father, saying it is "one of the most exasperating performances [he has] ever seen",[25] while Dry felt that Draper "is a particular breath of fresh air from the typical Jewish mother trope" and has some of the film's funniest lines.[28]

Awards and nominations
Year Association Award Recipients Result Ref.
2020 Adelaide Film Festival Audience Award for Feature Fiction Shiva Baby Won [76]
Argentine Association of Directors of Photography (ADF)
Presented at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival		 Best International Cinematography Maria Rusche Won [77][78]
Calgary International Film Festival International Narrative Shiva Baby Nominated [79]
Deauville American Film Festival Grand Prize Shiva Baby Nominated [80][81]
Denver Film Festival American Independent Award Shiva Baby Special mention: New Comedic Voice [82]
Image+Nation Best Feature Film Shiva Baby Won [83]
Indie Memphis Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Won [84]
Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Won [85]
Los Cabos International Film Festival Competencia (Best Picture/Director) Shiva Baby / Emma Seligman Nominated [86][87]
Mar del Plata International Film Festival International Competition Shiva Baby Nominated [88][77]
Miami International Film Festival Jordan Ressler First Feature Award Emma Seligman Nominated [89][90]
Outfest Best Screenwriting Emma Seligman Won [47]
Out on Film Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Runner-up [91]
Best First Film Shiva Baby Runner-up
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival Rising Star Rachel Sennott Won [92]
South by Southwest Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Nominated [31][93]
Toronto International Film Festival Best Canadian Feature Film Shiva Baby Nominated [94]
Variety / Mill Valley Film Festival 10 Screenwriters to Watch Emma Seligman Won [95][96]

See also

References

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  89. Miami Film Festival 2020a.
  90. Miami Film Festival 2020b.
  91. Out on Film 2020.
  92. Bernstein 2020.
  93. Erbland 2020.
  94. TIFF 2020a.
  95. MVFF 2020.
  96. Countryman 2020.

Sources
Audio-visual media
  • Brief Take (October 7, 2020). Rachel Sennott and Emma Seligman on SHIVA BABY, Dianna Agron singing, and quarantine tv recos. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020 – via YouTube.
  • Dougherty, Mike (August 25, 2020). "Shiva Baby live Q&A with Emma Seligman, Rachel Sennott, Dianna Agron and more!". Outfest. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020 – via YouTube.
  • ET Canada (2020). "Emma Seligman Talks Directorial Debut With 'Shiva Baby'". Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  • Frameline Film Festival (September 18, 2020). SHIVA BABY - Q&A - Frameline44. Event occurs at 14:00–23:00. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-24 – via Facebook.
  • Ghetti, Margherita (July 20, 2020). "JFI Cinegogue Summer Days | Shiva Baby | Next Wave Spotlight Live Q+A". JFI. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020 – via YouTube.
  • Seligman, Emma; Bailey, Cameron (September 17, 2020). "A joy hearing Director/Writer Emma Seligman talk about breakout hit SHIVA BABY at an in-person screening at @TIFF_NET yesterday with @cameron_tiff. She talks here about her casting choices". TIFF NET. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Will Wong on Twitter.
  • TIFF Originals (September 10, 2020). "SHIVA BABY Q&A | TIFF 2020". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020 – via YouTube.
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