In BEAST, a dark fantasy feature film, a woman struggling with infertility discovers she must collect pieces of a magical relic to destroy a beast who is hellbent on killing her babies.
Imagine a haunting so sinister that it invades even your most intimate and sacred moments. Imagine flashes of a horrific Beast moving through your life, intent on destroying all that you hold dear. Imagine the overwhelming detritus of the Beast’s destruction. You find traces of damage everywhere—in a partner who feels more and more like a stranger, a womb that, despite all efforts, rocks you with pain and loss, sterile hospitals working overtime to drain whatever dignity remains. This is the world of T, a Black woman pushed to the brink. Despite the challenges of a dysfunctional relationship and the trauma of several miscarriages, T (40), a worldly Black woman, longs for a child. Her quest for motherhood unexpectedly sucks her back into a childhood fantasy world. Fantasy quickly turns to horror as T squares off against the monstrous Beast with Flesh melting saliva. Will she vanquish the Beast in time to save her child and herself?
Tchaiko is a writer/director whose filmmaking is influenced by growing up in 8 countries by age 16. Themes of living in and in-between, fill her work. Her impulses for fantasy connect to African indignity and the healing powers of body and spirit. Tchaiko most recently used etudes to create her action short film, 2 MOTHERS. Her debut feature film SOLACE is streaming on MGM+, Prime, and KweliTV. It won Special Jury Mention for Best Ensemble cast at the LA Film Festival and an Audience Award at the New Orleans Film Festival. Tchaiko's recent episodic work includes QUEEN SUGAR, CHERISH THE DAY, SACRIFICE, BMF, and GOOD TROUBLE. Her feature documentary LOOKING FOR TCHAIKO is in development and has been supported by Ford Foundation. Her second feature film, also in development, is a fantasy/horror biomythography called BEAST. It is a recipient of the 2024 Creative Capital Award.
CREATIVE CAPITAL AWARD 2024
