The film will stream on Netflix beginning January 19
A dystopian London sets the scene for Daniel Kaluuya‘s directorial debut The Kitchen in its first trailer. Set to stream on Netflix beginning Jan. 19, and co-directed by Kibwe Tavares, the film explores the small glimpses of hope that linger in the face of societal collapse. Kane Robinson, best known as the British rapper Kano, stars in The Kitchen alongside young newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman.
Robinson stars as Izi, a father only just being introduced to the responsibilities of parenthood as 12-year-old Benji (Bannerman) navigates parallels between interpersonal relationships and the similarly divided tiers of rich and poor.
In the film, Izi comes close to finally leaving London’s Kitchen, one of the last housing estates in the city where the wealth gap has reached an extreme. But as he inches closer to escape, Benji’s sudden appearance brings complications of its own. “My mum, she said you never loved her,” Benji tells Izi in the trailer. “But you would have loved me.”
“I feel like every city has a ‘Kitchen’, and I think because of the history of London and the Blitz, it’s more pronounced. We were bombed, and we survived. There are still traces of that within our being, but the class system dims us, so [with this film], I’m like, ‘Take the light and shine!’” Kaluuya shared in a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK. “It’s not a warning. It’s happening! Before the Blitz, this is how London was. That’s what Dickens was talking about — poor against rich, and we’re going back to that … This film explores the idea that what if there was one bit that had the last bit of soul left?”
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Kaluuya, who also wrote the film alongside Joe Murtagh, added: “I’ve been very blessed with a couple of different moments in films that I’ve done, but I realise when you tell the truth — it’s the truth! It may feel like things conspire, but we’re being honest about what we see.”
The Kitchen also features Hope Ikpoku Jr, Ian Wright, BackRoad Gee, Cristale, Teija Kabs, and Demmy Ladipo.
