This Will Never Work
Director: Marina Tempelsman, Niccolo Aeed
United States, 2024, 92 min
Shooting Format:BlackMagic Raw
Festival Year:2025
Category:Narrative Feature
Cast:Marinda Anderson, Amandla Jahava, Jerimiyah Dunbar, Usama Siddiquee, Peter Grosz, Sarah Stiles, with Ron Canada, and Portia
Crew:Writers: Niccolo Aeed, Marina Tempelsman. Producers: Niccolo Aeed, Marina Tempelsman, Fernando D. Maldonado
Email:hellomarinaandnicco@gmail.com
Synopsis
THIS WILL NEVER WORK is about a Black family coming together to have an intervention for Amanda's drinking problem. They've hired a therapist named Trevor (a white man, not that it matters), written emotional letters, and now they sit and wait for Amanda to arrive. But when she does, Trevor realizes that the family hasn't exactly been honest with him. "I think I should leave," he says. But listening isn't this family's strong suit, and they've already prepared for battle. The intervention turns into a whodunnit of all the family's drama and trauma. As we flash back and forth from contested family memories to the claustrophobic intervention room, we'll piece together the mysteries that haunt this family.
Trailer
About the director
Marina & Nicco (Marina Tempelsman and Niccolo Aeed) are New York-based writers specializing in comedies that have you laughing on the edge of your seat. After beginning their collaboration in sketch comedy, they expanded into playwriting, television, audio work, and filmmaking. Previous work has been featured by Fusion, Comedy Central, Audible, Wondery, Radiotopia, College Humor, The New Yorker, Funny or Die, as well as many stages throughout New York. Their previous plays include: To All My Supporters (Ars Nova 2021), Unpacking: a Ghost Story Told in the Dark (HERE Arts), Room 4 (The Peoples Improv Theater), and If You Do This Right You’ll Probably Break Their Chest (Ars Nova’s ANT Fest 2018).
Their pilot Smüchr won best comedy pilot in the 2018 New York Television Festival. They’re thrilled to premiere their first feature film at The Brooklyn Film Festival.
Filmmaker's note
Ever prepared for an intervention? It’s tense, dude! Like the night before a battle but the person you have to battle is your own daughter. You want to vomit. You want to call it off. You want to institutionalize a family member. And it all has to be done in an hour and half.
We wrote this movie because of our own family experiences with interventions – and because we love telling stories that center identity, without being trauma porn. We’re making this movie to make you laugh, then make your heart hurt a little bit, then make you call your mother.