Actress Jessica Barden is one of Hollywood’s rising young stars, with many TV (Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World, Penny Dreadful), and film credits (Pink Skies Ahead, The Lobster) to her name.
Barden stars as Ruth in director Nicole Riegel’s debut feature HOLLER, which is now playing in select theaters and on all major VOD platforms. She sat down with Cherry the Geek TV to discuss the making of the film.
The film takes place in a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up. Barden’s Ruth is a determined young woman who finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the once thriving factories at night. With her goal in sight, Ruth finds that the ultimate cost of an education for a girl like her may be more than she bargained for, and she soon finds herself torn between a promising future and the family that she would leave behind.
The film also stars Gus Halper as Ruth’s brother Blaze, Austin Amelio (The Walking Dead Universe’s Dwight) as the scrap metal boss Hark, Becky Ann Baker (Freaks and Geeks) as Ruth’s factory co-worker and friend Linda, and Pamela Adlon (Better Things) as Ruth’s mom Rhonda.
Holler is now in select theaters and VOD platforms from IFC Films.