« THE POWERFUL PAINTING OF OBSESSION IN GODLY »

by Ruby Brody

first feature film, "Godly", impresses by both its technical and emotional mastery. Jammina had to fight for her project for over two years before finding an interested producer —Megan Ellison, and it's hard to believe that such an incredible script might have been turned down by everyone in an industry that claims is looking for more diversity.

And the first few minutes of the movie quickly set the tone. You will not see the story of two best friends trying to survive school. They steal, illegally sell soda cans and lighters and desecrate their own religion to get some bills in their pockets.

, hard to watch because it depicts the story of two young girls, Dinah and Leila, who live in a poor district and decide to follow the footsteps of highly-respected drug dealer, Deborah, to rise to financial greatness. And Jammina does it perfectly, creating a world surrounded by threats but softened by the colorful and esthetic movie shots, the classical music and the personalities of the characters.

And if you think you will see triumph, let me stop you right there. Because the only triumph you will witness is the one for obsession. Obsession for power and for money, Jammina shows in "Godly" that even the most beautiful and pure relationships can be destroyed over dollar bills. That is when the incredible Dinah comes into place.

, Dinah carries the entire movie on her shoulders, quickly losing herself as she gets closer and closer to her ultimate goal : making more money than anyone could've ever dreamed of. Jammina's desire was to create a character so lovable that you would feel « like being slapped across the face when you'd see how someone so caring could become so unfortunate and despicable over just a few selfish decisions. »

And Lulu Jenson impressively delivered. The 18 year old actress added so many layers of interpretation that you cannot simply love or hate her character. Many many small details of her performance will move any viewer and make you wonder if you would've handled the situation any better. Definitely an actress to watch out for —it's no accident that she worked with David Fincher at age fourteen, as her raw talent predicts a bright future.

the disruption between the rich and the poor, the women and men, the love and the obsession and Maya Jammina created a masterpiece that should undoubtedly stick in the minds of those who will feel brave enough to witness a story that has no limit, a movie that's hungry to show the dangers of wanting too much and of loving so hard it could kill.

« GODLY OR AN ODE TO GIRL POWER »

by Sam Gomez

Godly is the story of Dinah, a young girl living in a suburb and dreaming of money and power. Alongside her best friend Leila, she decides to start working for Deborah, a very rich drug dealer who controls the entire neighborhood with her unique charisma and important authority.

The young director, Maya Jammina, captured a side of youth that has rarely been displayed that way before in the industry. Juggling with clichés, she portrayed strong and independent female characters, demoting the male figures as secondary to focus on the women and their obsession for success.

A clear win for Jammina as the script glides easily and allows everyone to be captured by the storyline and the endearing characters. From start to finish, the only thing we want is for the two teenage girls to finally stack their pockets with cash and run away from this world that constantly diminishes them as Dinah is having trouble being seen as more than the « bastard » of the neighborhood.

The dialogues are superb and perfectly brought to life by the young actresses who make the movie, Lulu Jenson, Liz Kanes and Aliya Yacoub who play respectfully Dinah, Leila and Deborah. We needed and wanted strong female characters for a very long time and "Godly" gave us exactly what we had dreamed of. Characters with flaws but with so much charisma that their flaws become a source of fire, literally piercing the screen.

Kudos to Lulu Jenson for pulling out a mesmerizing performance from start to finish —making an audience made exclusively of Hollywood professionals bawl their eyes out at the final scene. A performance that will definitely mark the spirits and, I hope, will give her some award nominations.