Four years after her breakout role in If Beale Street Could Talk, Cincinnati native KiKi Layne will star and executive produce a feature film called Dandelion shot in her hometown.
Film Cincinnati announced Friday that production starts this week on the romantic drama written and directed by Nicole Riegel.
Layne — who has appeared in Native Son, Coming 2 America and The Old Guard since Beale Street — will play Dandelion, "a struggling but determined Cincinnati singer-songwriter in a downward spiral (who) reluctantly takes a last-ditch-effort gig at a motorcycle rally in South Dakota," according to Deadline.
The Hollywood-based website says Dandelion meets a guitarist named Casey at the rally and joins his "eclectic and nomadic group of struggling musicians." The kindred spirits "make music together and strike up an intoxicating whirlwind romance that moves Dandelion … to a deeper appreciation of her artistic journey and the discovery of a voice that is authentically her own."
Layne told Deadline that she was "very excited to bring forth a story about the resilience of the human spirit and magic of serendipity taking center stage. Music is an integral part of my life, so being able to merge the two worlds with my passion of acting is a dream come true, and I’m thrilled to be in partnership with IFC Films.”
Layne, a graduate of the Cincinnati School for Creative & Performing Arts (2009) and Chicago's DePaul University theatre school (2014), made her TV debut on Chicago Med in 2016.
No other cast members have been announced for Dandelion. It will be the second picture shooting in Greater Cincinnati this fall, and the fourth major motion picture filmed here this year.
The Bikeriders, starring Austin Butler (Elvis), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) started filming the first week of Octoberin Southwestern Ohio, including Hamilton and Middletown.
In April, Regina King completed Shirley, her biographical film about U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm's 1972 presidential campaign, and a few weeks later, production started on HBO Max's Turtles All The Way Down.
Hollywood producers are attracted here by the generous Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, which provides a refundable tax credit of 30% on production, cast and crew wages plus other eligible in-state spending.
Here's the Film Cincinnati release:
Film Cincinnati Announces Start of “Dandelion” Movie Production
Cincinnati (For Immediate Release) – Production starts this week on the latest major motion picture to shoot in the Greater Cincinnati area, “Dandelion,” starring KiKi Layne as a Cincinnati singer-songwriter.
The movie is the second for writer-director Nicole Riegel. IFC Films just recently acquired the global rights to the movie, which should be released in theaters next year.
“We’re excited to have another motion picture in our area right now,” said Kristen Schlotman, executive director of Film Cincinnati. “Being able to shoot “Dandelion” and “The Bikeriders” at the same time in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky shows the depth of our local talent, both in front of and behind the cameras.”
The picture is produced by Rian Cahill of Griffin Drive Productions, Adam Cobb, Pete McClellan and Nicole Riegel. Layne will serve as an executive producer along with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger of Automatik, BondIt Media Capital’s Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, and Tyler Gould along with Aaron and Bryce Dessner and IFC Films.
Layne is a Cincinnati native and is known for her work in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Native Son” and “The Old Guard.”
