‘Cherry Lemonade’ — Short Film Review
Tribeca 2021: ‘Cherry Lemonade’ Short Film Review | Cherry Lemonade, an 11-minute short film directed and written by Aisha Ford, made its premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the Juneteenth programming. The short stars Eris Baker, Skylan Brooks, Chance Harlem Jr, Alexander Jones III, Skyler Priest, and Meagan Harmon.
Eris Baker, best known for her role as Tess Pearson in the NBC record-breaking series ‘This Is Us,’ portrays Phoenix – an eleven-year-old who has always yearned to be the IT girl but can’t shake her tomboyish ways. On a hot summer day in the hood, Phoenix ventures out on her own to a local corner store after her abrasive older brother, Kurt, played by Skylan Brooks (“Archenemy,” “The Get Down”), breaks a promise. What transpires challenges Phoenix’s naiveté and alters her perspective on life.
Eris Baker excels in delivering an honest and thoughtful performance as she takes the viewer on a journey of self-realization. Skylan Brooks’ commitment to his character, ‘Kurt’, is admirable and serves as a humbling example of what it means to be an older brother.
Inspired by Ford’s personal childhood experiences, Cherry Lemonade serves as a cautionary tale that intends to teach tough life lessons about the unknown dangers that lurk beyond our immediate realities, and the awareness and strength required to hold one’s own. While the film primarily focuses on a young girl learning how to protect herself, the message transcends across all age groups.
Aisha Ford is an award-winning filmmaker studying as a graduate film student at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She has written and directed short films screened on platforms such as the American Black Film Festival Independent TV series and at multiple film festivals across the country.
DIRECTOR: Aisha Ford
SCREENWRITER: Aisha Ford
PRODUCERS: Jane Hare, Katie Pyne, Nadine Nadoo, Tema L. Staig, Allison Vanore, Jeff Vespa, Annika Hylmo, Uzma Xina Kang
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Angie Sciulli
EDITOR: Kameron Davis
