Shiva Baby opens with a young woman Danielle (Rachel Sennott) finishing up a session with her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari). Deferrari communicates everything you need to know about his character in this early scene — after fumbling with the cash, he extends an already awkward farewell into an even sadder extended hug. Brushing him off brusquely, Danielle arrives late to a family shiva (a Jewish funeral service), though she’s still not sure who died.
Granted, Danielle can be forgiven for chugging wine, since Max shows up at the shiva. It turns out, her sugar daddy used to work for her real daddy. Not only that, he’s married (to a shiksa). And they have a baby. Not only does she have to process this personal crisis in secret, but amidst a chorus of nosy Jewish aunties simultaneously chastising and praising her recent weight loss. What’s more, her high school sweetheart Maya (Molly Gordon) — or is she her sworn enemy? — is going to law school, while Danielle is totally directionless.
Shiva Baby is a 2020 American comedy film written and directed by Emma Seligman, in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Rachel Sennott as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her parents, Joel (Fred Melamed) and Debbie (Polly Draper). Other attendees include her successful ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon), and her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) with his wife Kim (Dianna Agron) and their screaming baby. It also features Jackie Hoffman, Deborah Offner, Rita Gardner and Sondra James in supporting roles.
Adapted from Seligman’s own 2018 short film of the same name, Shiva Baby premiered online at the 2020 South by Southwest film festival, while its first public screenings were at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in theaters and streaming on April 2, 2021. The events of the film take place almost entirely in real time and at one location as Danielle explores her romantic and career prospects under the intense watch of her family, friends, and judgmental neighbors.
Shiva Baby was filmed over 16 days in August 2019 at an Airbnb in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Seligman chose the house on Argyle Road [commons] because of its dark wood interior and stained-glass windows providing a Yentl-like glow. The shoot was initially planned for summer 2018, which was postponed to 2019; Seligman then wanted to push it again, to 2020, to have more time to raise money, but Sennott “set a timebomb”.
The film mostly takes place in one location during one day. After scouting the house, Seligman built a model of the first floor out of Lego and used this to plan shots. She said that some of the main struggles related to continuity, particularly working with actors who were not always available at the same time. The production had only “two days when [they] had the entire [principal] six-person cast together at the same time”.
Another struggle was the baby playing Rose, who would not stop crying; Seligman said this was a “learning experience” that caused her to rework some scenes to fit in a crying baby. The opening scene, set before the shiva at Max’s apartment, was filmed on the last day. Seligman, with a largely female cast and crew, felt prepared for this and other scenes involving intimacy, but discovered during filming that the scenes were more vulnerable and required more sensitivity.
Shiva Baby received positive reviews from critics, who praised Seligman’s screenplay and direction, cast performances, musical score, representation of bisexual and Jewish people, and for effectively conveying anxiety-inducing claustrophobia. The film would later win several awards.
Shiva Baby (2023)
Directed by: Emma Seligman
Starring: Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Danny Deferrari, Polly Draper, Fred Melamed, Dianna Agron, Jackie Hoffman, Cilda Shau, Glynis Bell, Sondra James, Rita Gardner, Deborah Offner
Screenplay by: Emma Seligman
Production Design by: Cheyenne Ford
Cinematography by: Maria Rusche
Film Editing by: Hanna A. Park
Costume Design by: Michelle J. Li
Art Direction by: Jack Dobens
Music by: Ariel Marx
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Utopia
Release Date: March 15, 2020 (SXSW), August 4, 2021 (United States)
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