Jennifer Esposito is known for her roles in “Crash” and “Summer of Sam.”
Now she’s flipping the script by starring, directing and writing her own film “Fresh Kills,” which has been about a decade in the making. Esposito was so passionate about telling this story, she mortgaged her own home to finance it.
“This town tells you what you can be and what you can’t be for so many years. I was just so over that and I thought, ‘Why am I asking the world to believe in me, I have to believe in me.’ So I’m going to put my money down. At the end of my life, am I going to be so happy that my house was paid off? Or am I going to be so happy that I gave myself the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for for far too long? So I thought I’m going.”
The drama is unlike any mob movie ever seen because it tells the story from the female perspective.
“It’s the first time that the point of view of the females in the mafia is seen and I’m the first female to step into the genre, which made this even so much more difficult. But it was something that I thought needed to be told. Again, the movie takes place in the mafia but it’s really about finding a voice in a world that tells you not to have one,” she explained.
Esposito also revealed the many roadblocks she faced to make the movie.
“I was offered $5 million if a male would direct it instead of myself. I was offered a lot of money for stars to be in it,” she revealed.
She signed on Odessa A’zion to play her daughter in the film after meeting through a Zoom call. A’zion was referred to Esposito by a friend who had seen her in another project.
“I literally gave her the job on the Zoom!”
The film also stars Domenick Lombardozzi of “Tulsa King” and Annabella Sciorra of “Sopranos” fame.
From the experience, Esposito learned to trust herself and it’s paid off.
In 2023, “Fresh Kills” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Red Sea International Film Festival and it’s already racked up some awards on the festival circuit.
“I will say this, I am going to brag because this process has been brutal. We’ve had a few amazing reviews, but one of them said it’s one of the best mafia films since ‘The Godfather,'” she gushed.
“We’re already sold out in Burbank. We’re already sold out in New York and I beg all of you to please go buy a ticket. Independent films is where you hear real stories, and we really need to support independent films,” she continued.
“Fresh Kills” hits theaters on June 14.