“The Other, Gold” | A Tribeca Film Written, Produced, Co-Directed By & Starring A Black Woman, Qualifies For The Oscars With No Studio Backing
LOS ANGELES, CA — Following its sold out world premiere at the prestigious 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, “The Other, Gold” kicks off its Awards Season campaign with 21 Oscar-qualifying screenings at The Tara Atlanta from December 6-12, 2024. Rising talent Sharaé Nikai wrote, produced, co-directed (with David Lassiter) and stars in this heartfelt dramedy.
“The Other, Gold” is an independent feature film that explores the poignant journey of a Black TV writer (Nikai) as she navigates grief, “pandemmy” isolation and the rekindling of a former BFF-ship. It was one of only 10 selections in the US Narrative Competition at Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca out of 13,016 submissions.
Nikai and Lassiter are in consideration for several Spirit and Academy Awards including Best Director, Screenplay, Picture (FI only), Lead and Breakout. Most recently, they’ve added Film Independent’s Someone To Watch & John Cassavetes Awards to the impressive list. They were disqualified from this year’s DGA Awards because their qualifying run was planned in Atlanta, not LA or NYC, the only two cities the Directors Guild acknowledges.
In a statement about the screenings, Nikai shares, “The Academy would have to confirm, but it is quite possible that “The Other, Gold” is the first Oscar eligible feature film to be written, produced, co-directed by and starring the same Black woman. David and I chose ATL for this historic experience because we both have deep family roots and loving friendships in the state of Georgia. We did our LA Premiere after Tribeca, but an LA qualifying run is more suited for films with major motion picture budgets and followings. As one of few Academy Award eligible films starring and made by Black creatives with no studio involvement, we recognize Atlanta as a mecca of African-American artistry, culture and entrepreneurship. This makes it the best city in the US for our film to qualify for the 2025 Academy Awards.”
As seen with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Sarah Anthony’s 2024 documentary, awards eligibility can be tricky. While Nikai and Lassiter communicated with DGA right up until the eligibility deadline, they did not yield the same positive result as “Kiss The Future” or Andrea Riseborough during last year’s Oscars controversy. Nikai added, “Even though the DGA will not recognize us, we refocused our FYC efforts toward organizations with eligibility requirements that include ‘The Other, Gold’. For films this size, every award consideration, ticket purchase and ounce of love count!”
Supporting talent in the FYC pool are Amin Joseph (FX’s “Snowfall” & “Justified: City Primeval”), Krista Marie Yu (ABC’s “Dr. Ken”, FOX’s “Last Man Standing”), Billy Sly Williams (CBS’s “NCIS”, Showtime’s “Shameless”) and Director of Photography, Ray Wongchinda (2024 Tribeca’s “America is Burning”).
The directors will appear on Q&A panels following the 12/6 - 7PM, 12/7 - 8PM & 12/8 - 3:45PM screenings. Tickets for “The Other, Gold” are now available at https://www.taraatlanta.com/movie/the-other-gold-2024. The Tara Theater is located at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324.
Follow @sharaenikai & @theothergoldfilm on Instagram for the latest updates on the film's journey.
