Sumerian Pictures is running its first-ever awards campaign, and the lead entry is unusual: nine-year-old Mason Reeves will be submitted for best actress for her debut performance in Josephine. The Beth de Araújo drama swept Sundance in January, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the dramatic competition, then traveled to the Berlin International Film Festival as a Golden Bear contender.
The film follows an eight-year-old girl who witnesses a violent assault in Golden Gate Park and is consumed by fear and paranoia in the aftermath. It holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes across 88 reviews and an 86 on Metacritic. Sumerian acquired U.S. rights in a competitive seven-figure deal; the film opens wide in the U.S. and U.K. on November 20.
The full campaign covers several categories. Channing Tatum, who plays the girl's father, will be submitted for best supporting actor. Gemma Chan, who plays the mother, is entered for best supporting actress. The film itself is in best picture, with crafts categories included in the push. It is the first campaign the young distributor has mounted.
A child in the lead actress race is genuinely rare. If Reeves advances, she would compete in one of the season's most crowded fields against performances from established actors who have spent the fall festival circuit collecting reviews. Whether the Academy's acting branch responds to a debut on that scale is the open question as the campaign gets underway.