Joika

Joika is a 2023 New Zealand–Polish drama about American ballerina Joy Womack training at the prestigious Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. It was written by James Napier Robertson and stars Diane Kruger and Talia Ryder.

Synopsis
A fifteen-year old aspiring American ballerina leaves her Texan family home and is thrust into the world of Russian ballet as one of the very few Americans to ever be accepted into the Moscow Bolshoi Academy. Under legendary teacher Tatiyana Volkova, Joy Womack trains with the goal of becoming a Prima Ballerina at the Bolshoi Company. But, behind the beauty of dance is a world of pain and brutal competitiveness, and Joy is forced to push her body, her mind and her choices further than she ever thought possible. Finding unlikely support from Volkova, she risks her health, relationships and potentially her life in her journey to determine what it means to be great.

Development and writing
Joika was written and directed by James Napier Robertson. According to Robertson, he had initially not been interested in the producer's original pitch "Rocky with pointe shoes" but changed his mind after watching a New York Times short documentary about Joy Womack. After meeting Womack in Los Angeles, Robertson said that he felt inspired by her personal charisma and work ethic to helm the film project.

Casting
Talia Ryder was cast as Joy Womack while Diane Kruger was cast as Volkova. Napier Robertson had cast Ryder as Womack due to her performance in the 2020 teen abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always. To prepare for the role, Ryder trained with Womack and New York City Ballet principal dancer Daniel Ulbricht. Supporting cast members included Oleg Ivenko, Natalia Osipova, Tomasz Kot, Charlotte Ubben, Natasha Alderslade, Karolina Gruszka and Borys Szyc.

Filming
Filming began in Poland in February 2022 and finished in Warsaw a few hours before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film was produced by Paul Green, Tom Hern, Belindalee Hope and Paula Munoz Vega. Luke Rivett, Charlotte Ubben, Robert Walak, Phil Rose, Peter Touche, Andrea Scarso, Laurie Ross, Michael Cerny served as executive producers. Tomasz Naumiuk serves as cinematographer while Dana Lund composed the film's music score. Womack choreographed the film's ballerina scenes.

The film was produced with support from Ingenious Media, RBF Productions, the New Zealand Film Commission, the Polish Film Institute, the Department of Post and the Moderator Inwestycje Group.

Release
In 2022, Joika's distribution rights in Australia and New Zealand were sold to The Reset Collective, Paradiso in the Benelux, Ascot Elite in Switzerland, Ten Letters in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Baltic States, Square One in Germany, Eagle in Italy, Vertice in Spain, Spentzos in Greece, United King in Israel, Filmfinity in South Africa, Nos Lusomundo in Portugal and Front Row in the Middle East. In February 2024, Vertical Entertainment acquired the distribution rights for the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland.

The film first premiered at the 2023 Deauville American Film Festival. It was also screened at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival and the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival between 15–16 February 2024.

Reception
Liam Maguren of Flicks gave Joika a favourable review, opining that the film "delivers plenty of squirm-inducing suspense and a compelling moral quagmire." Maguren praised writer-director Napier Robertson and also praised the performances of the main cast members Talia Ryder and Diane Kruger, likening their partnership to the student-teacher relationship in Damien Chazelle's Whiplash. He also praised the film's choreography and handheld cinematography of Tomasz Naumiuk.