Netflix announced today the start of production on futuristic dystopian drama The Kitchen.
The Kitchen is co-written by Academy Award® winner Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and The Black Messiah, Get Out) and BAFTA nominee Joe Murtagh (Calm with Horses, Gangs of London), based on an idea by Daniel Kaluuya, Sundance Film Festival winner Kibwe Tavares (Robots of Brixton), and BAFTA nominee Daniel Emmerson (Calm with Horses).
Set in London in 2044, the film shows a future where the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. All forms of social housing have been eradicated, and London’s working classes have been forced to live in temporary accommodations on the outskirts of the city. The Kitchen is the first and the largest of its kind — it’s London’s last village harboring residents that refuse to move on and move out of the place they call home. It’s here we meet Izi, a resident of The Kitchen who is desperately trying to find a way out, and 12-year-old Benji, who has lost his mother and is searching for a family. The film follows this unlikely pair as they battle to survive in a system that is stacked against them.
Starring in The Kitchen are Kane Robinson (Top Boy) as Izi and young newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman as Benji.
Daniel Emmerson produces the feature for DMC Film, with Kaluuya producing under his 59% Productions banner. The project is helmed by first-time feature director Kibwe Tavares, whose multi-disciplinary work crosses theatre, shorts, and architecture.
Developed with the support of Film4, the film is executive produced by David Kimbangi and Ollie Madden for Film4, with Theo Barrowclough serving as a co-producer, and Conor McCaughan and Michael Fassbender serving as executive producers for DMC Film.
Said Daniel Kaluuya:
“In 2011, I was in my barbershop and there was a guy boasting about smash and grabs — kids doing million-pound heists in a minute, getting paid £200 to do it. I saw the potential to unlock a unique story door to the inequality, fatherhood, class, joy, resilience, courage, defiance and care of London. Now, nearly a decade later, Kibwe Tavares, Daniel Emmerson and I are about to start production, immersing ourselves in a dystopian London that interrogates what ‘care’ means, at home and as a society and the dangers in our future if we stay indifferent to everything around us. I feel blessed and honoured that my first co-writing film credit is with this inspiring group of creatives, and with the support of Film 4 and Netflix. All of us are excited to watch Kibwe’s incredible, cinematic, electric vision come to life, and to create a moment that audiences want to take with them.”
Kibwe Tavares commented:
“The Kitchen is very much a love letter to London, the city that has defined my childhood and ultimately my identity. It’s set in an extreme version of our current world; our characters have little choice but to let the city take over them. Through Benji, a 12 year old in need of care, we explore what we as society lose in the ever changing and shifting patterns of life, of our cities. I’m incredibly honoured to be able to explore a father-son relationship in this setting that is as personal as it is universal. This is a film for my father and all the fathers and sons out there, who are working it out. And to all the communities out there that are trying to take care of each other.”
And Fiona Lamptey, Director of UK Features, Netflix, stated:
“I’ve had the pleasure of producing for Kibwe over the years and couldn’t be happier to now be supporting Kibwe’s debut feature as part of the Netflix UK Film slate. The Kitchen is ambitious, timely and will showcase the great vision he has as a filmmaker, bringing the exciting world-building and textured nuances from Daniel Kaluuya’s debut feature script to our screens.”
The Kitchen will shoot on location in London and Paris, and release globally on Netflix in 2023. Stay tuned for updates.
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