London, 20 years in the future: The gap between the rich and the poor has never been greater. Those who can’t afford to live in the city proper are forced to the outskirts of town with few resources — they barely have running water, steal food deliveries to survive, and can’t afford to bury their loved ones. This dystopian backdrop sets the stage for The Kitchen, a sci-fi social drama that follows a boy and his reluctant father figure as they try to navigate a system that’s stacked against them.
Oscar-, BAFTA-, and Golden Globe–winning actor Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) co-directed the film along with Kibwe Tavares (Jonah). Kaluuya starred in Tavares’ short films Jonah and Robot & Scarecrow. The Kitchen — which also stars actor-rapper Kano, newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman, and Hope Ikpoku Jr. — is Kaluuya and Tavares’ feature directorial debut.
Kane Robinson as Izi and Jedaiah Bannerman as Benji in The Kitchen
Check it out at the top of this article.
It’s 2044, and Isaac, aka Izi, is desperate to leave the Kitchen — the low-income housing complex he lives in that’s one of the last of its kind — and he might’ve just gotten his one chance. A coveted apartment at the more upscale Buena Vida is available, and if Izi can come up with a deposit in 21 days, it’s all his. One day at work — at Life After Life, a mortuary for the poor where remains are composted and used to grow tree saplings — Izi attends the memorial service for a woman he once knew. There, he meets her son, 12-year-old Benji. After realizing Benji can no longer afford to live in his mother’s apartment, Izi reluctantly takes the boy to live with him at the Kitchen — where the two forge a bond that’s tested by Izi’s desire to abandon a community that the city wants to destroy.
No, the film is original. The screenplay was co-written by Kaluuya and BAFTA nominee Joe Murtagh (Calm with Horses).
No, it’s fictional.
The movie takes place in London in the year 2044.
