Prime Highlights

• Dakota Johnson stars in her debut feature film, and it is very personal.
• The film centers around a young autistic woman and will be produced by Johnson’s TeaTime Pictures.

Key Facts

• The movie is inspired by real life and features Vanessa Burghardt in the lead role, along with whom she has also written the script.
• Johnson described the story as “deeply emotional” and was eager to emphasize the need to ensure that a safe, supportive working environment is fostered on set.

Key Background

Actress Dakota Johnson, who has played varied roles in films like Fifty Shades of Grey and The Lost Daughter, is foraying into a new domain of professional engagement—film direction. She will be making her directorial debut in a feature film with a film that is “deeply personal” to her. The film, directed by and starring Vanessa Burghardt, is an adaptation of the troubled life of an autistic child. This is an unexpected career move on Johnson’s part, illustrating her commitment to off-the-beaten-path, emotionally smart storytelling.

Johnson met Burghardt while shooting the film Cha Cha Real Smooth, where the two artists became close friends. Having been inspired by Burghardt’s voice and integrity, Johnson felt a need to protect and foster the story by having it directed by her. According to her, the film required being handled with care and sympathy, and as a human being she felt obligated to have it done that way and honestly.

TeaTime Pictures, Johnson’s production company that she co-founded, will be filming the movie. Similar to Johnson as an advocate of emotionally poignant and visually beautiful storytelling, the production company has a similar mission to that of Johnson’s mission in advocating for less-heard voices in the industry. In this movie, she aims to create a culture of non-toxic filmmaking wherein technical quality is merged with emotional safety.

Johnson’s pre-experience consists of co-directing music video “Cry Cry Cry” of Coldplay and currently directing short, Loser Baby. The experience prepared her for narrative requirements in a feature film. She also mentioned that she felt always disconnected from final cuts in actor work so that this motivated her to become more responsible for the story by directing.

It is her first feature, both a reflection of her artistic coming out and a reflection of a healthy predisposition toward pluralistic, sympathetic depictions on screen.