"You’re Not Safe Here" directed by Rachel Annette Helson to debut on Lifetime TV
By Roberta Griefer
New York --Female-driven thriller You’re Not Safe Here will debut on Lifetime TV on July 31st, 2021 at 8pm. Directed by Rachel Annette Helson and produced by Shane O’ Brien, Zach O’ Brien and Anthony del Negro of Stargazer Films, the film stars Haskiri Velazquez (lead of Saved by the Bell, 2021 Entertainment Weekly Breakout Star,) Nicky Whelan (Hall Pass, Scrubs) and Cleo Anthony (Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It). Germany’s Beta Film handles world sales. You’re Not Safe Here follows Ava, a young pregnant woman. After fleeing from her abusive boyfriend, Ava is rescued from a car accident by a friendly married couple. While recovering at their home, however, the woman begins to fear the couple may actually have a sinister plan for her and her unborn baby.
The film marks the feature directorial debut for Helson who has appeared on-screen in TV shows like Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick, as well as Power and Law & Order: SVU. Her directorial debut short film Hatched was chosen as a 2021 Bitpix Short of the Week, an Official Selection of HollyShorts, an Official Selection of StudioFest where she was chosen as a finalist director, and a Film Shortage Daily Short Pick. She was selected for the SHOOT 2019 New Directors Showcase and is a alumnus of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a member of the Alliance of Women Directors and Film Fatales. She was also a 2009 TONY and Drama Desk Award nominee for her work as a producer on the Broadway production of Neil LaBute’s "Reasons to be Pretty." She has previously been featured in publications like The New York Times and Backstage, among others. Helson is repped by Robbie Kass and Roxanna Raanan of Kass Management.
Helson lives in New York City, but she was born and raised in Kentucky, where the film was shot in November 2020. “It was a treat to shoot in Kentucky. There are so many talented film and television professionals who live and work there, and the crew on You’re Not Safe Here was no exception,” said Helson. “As someone who was nervous about directing my first movie, having the opportunity to shoot in my hometown made me feel at ease and at home. The stars really aligned. I’m excited to have had the opportunity to work with such respected producers, and I can’t wait to see our film on Lifetime!”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More