Fresh Kills (film)

Fresh Kills is a 2023 American drama film marking the directorial debut of Jennifer Esposito, who also wrote and co-produced it. The film stars Esposito, Emily Bader, Odessa A'zion, Domenick Lombardozzi, Nick Cirillo and Annabella Sciorra.

Fresh Kills was released in the United States on June 14, 2024.

Premise
In 1980s New York City, Francine is married into a Brooklyn organised crime family, who have just moved to the more spacious surroundings of Staten Island. However, for her and her daughters Rose and Connie the shadow of the mafia remains ever present.

Cast

 * Jennifer Esposito as Francine
 * Emily Bader as Rose
 * Odessa A'zion as Connie
 * Domenick Lombardozzi as Joe
 * Annabella Sciorra as Christine
 * Nicholas Cirillo as Alli
 * Stelio Savante as Nello
 * Franco Maicas as Frankie

Production
Jennifer Esposito told Variety that the idea for the script had been “percolating” in her mind since she was 16 years-old and growing up on Staten Island.

Esposito told Deadline Hollywood in October 2021, she had struggled to get finance for the project from financiers and distributors due to the lack of male lead actors in the film. Funding instead arrived from a unique source, with Deadline Hollywood calling it “the first feature film financed and traded by a global group of fan investors via this first-of-its-kind IPO on Upstream Exchange, the Ethereum-powered digital stock exchange”.

In November 2021, Annabella Sciorra joined Esposito in the cast playing Christine, the sister of Esposito’s character Francine. Odessa A'zion and Emily Bader joined the cast in December 2021 as Francine’s daughters.

Principal photography took place on Staten Island in March 2022.

Release
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16, 2023. Later that year it was shown at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Fresh Kills was released in the United States on June 14, 2024.