‘We Grown Now’ Interview: Minhal Baig and Lil Rel Howery

Cairo: Zizi Abdel Ghaffar

(L-R) Lil Rel Howery and writer-director Minhal Baig talk about ‘We Grown Now.’

The new drama ‘We Grown Now’ will be released in theaters on April 19, which was written and directed by Minhal Baig (‘Hala’) and stars Jurnee Smollett (‘Birds of Prey’), Lil Rel Howery (‘Get Out’) and S. Epatha Merkerson (‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer-director Minhal Baig and Lil Rel Howery about their new film, developing the script, the themes Baig wanted to explore, telling the story from the point of view of two young children, the character of Howery and what it means to him to be part of this project.

Minhal Baig, writer and director of ‘We Grown Now’. Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.

Moviefone: To start, Minhal, can you talk to us about the development of the script, the themes you wanted to explore and tell the story from the point of view of these two young men?

Minhal Baig: The process of making this film began in 2018. I was connected to the former Cabrini-Green residence and was approaching it from a place of curiosity. I had just moved to Chicago. I had lost my father and my family was trying to decide what to do with our family home. The relationship I had with the place had changed dramatically because my father was no longer there and I was interested in exploring this relationship of what home means to us. But I was drawn to explore it through the lens of a community, the community’s relationship to a place that no longer exists, because the last of the skyscrapers was demolished in 2011. So when I was talking to people who lived in the area Alta Rises, I was very surprised by their stories, things I really didn’t expect to hear. Stories about everyday life of family and friendship. Those were the things that actually appeared in the finished film. They were also stories I hadn’t seen before. So, that’s what really drew me to explore the story through the perspective of these two kids as well. Because when I talked to people who grew up there as kids, that was the only place they knew and it was a special place. I wanted to capture that on film, where two truths can be held at the same time. That this was sometimes a challenging and difficult place to live but there was also a lot of love in life. Their stories really challenged the dominant Cabrini-Green cultural narrative at the time, which was that there was a lot of drugs, violence and gang activity. While there is a part of that that is true, there is also another part that is true. I wanted the film to explore both, but in a way we hadn’t seen before. That’s why we chose to share the story through the perspective of these children because they really see it from a different perspective than adults. So, that was the process of just staying open, listening and learning from people, not really steering the script or the story in any direction until you’d talked to the people who lived there, and coming out on the other side with this story that from their Stories were emerging that were about home, what it means, friendship, and the struggle to leave a place behind. Really the heart of the story is these children and their friendship, what they have in this world and in this community is each other. That caught my attention personally, even though I didn’t grow up in Cabrini-Green. The themes of friendship, it’s something I think everyone can relate to.

Lil Rel Howery on ‘We Grown Now’. Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.

MF: Finally, Rel, what did you like about playing this character and what does it mean to you personally to be part of a project like this?

Lil Rel Howery: Well, it meant a lot. I’m from Chicago and just the issue and the story of Cabrini-Green in general, the residents, it’s very important to tell that story and get away from what people think about the families in the project and what we’ve seen in the media and even in other movies. representations of what a project family is, which is a family that grows in housing projects. The beautiful thing about this is how connected the family is. I love the fact that when we showed them having dinner together, how normal that was throughout the building. You can go to any apartment in that building and that’s what everyone was doing almost at the same time, literally eating dinner, talking to each other and laughing. I think a lot of times people forget the sense of community in Cabrini-Green, and not just in Cabrini-Green but in housing projects in Chicago in general. My family comes from Robert Taylor and there were eight of us in one place. But all they have are great memories of it. I remember at that time the song ‘Stop the Violence’ and how big it was. Unfortunately, now that you see a movie like this and shoot something like this, I know what the future is. Because it’s not 1992 anymore. I’ve lived it. I think it never really got better. Got worse. Even when the energy was right to do it, it didn’t last. It’s one of those things where you start to realize that we’re all up in arms about something and then slowly but surely, depending on whether the powers that be actually care about what’s really happening, nothing really changes. . But I mean, for me, I really had to make this movie. I see things all the time that try to tell these Chicago stories and they’re not authentic at all, it bothers me. This film is, for me, a beautiful love letter, created by Minhal, for Chicago and for those residents and from his perspective of those young people and his friendship. We don’t see many black kids just being kids and showing true friendship with emotional attachments. How did you feel when one of your friends moved away? Honestly, to me, you’ve never seen that perspective from a black kid. I think he was great. That’s one of my favorite things about this movie.

“Don’t be afraid to fly.”

P.G.1 hour 33 minutesOctober 11, 2023

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Two young people, best friends Malik and Eric, discover the joys and difficulties of growing up in the sprawling Cabrini-Green public housing complex in 1992 Chicago. Read the plot