Kerry’s First Lead in An Action Movie
Kerry Washington brought her latest film, Shadow Force to the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival on April 27, 2025. Shadow Force is Washington’s first lead role in an action movie. Washington is also a producer on this film.
Shadow Force centers around married couple Kyrah (Washington) and Issac (Omar Sy) as they are on the run to protect the family they’ve built. Their son Ky (Jahleel Kamara) steals the show throughout the movie with his love for Lionel Richie.
Before the screening of Shadow Force, Washington took some time to speak with Carvd N Stone about her newest accomplishment.
“I don’t feel like I’ve made it but that’s not to say I haven’t had a lot of success. I feel like I’ve been very, very, very blessed and I’m super grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had. But to me, making it means like some sort of an ending and I’m not ready to be done. I feel like I’m just getting warmed up,” Washington told Carvd N Stone.
Shadow Force releases in theaters on May 9, 2025.
Memior and Creating An Action Film
Shadow Force is a film about the Black family dynamic and Black love. It shows the depths one will go to protect the ones that they love.
Washington used her real-life family experiences to help shape her Shadow Force family.
“While I was making Shadow Force I was writing my memoir and it was a really intense journey for my family where we were learning how to be more honest and courageous with each other. And I feel like one of the benefits of this film was that I got to put all this kind of emotional and spiritual strength that my family was gaining into the physical strength of this film,” Washington told Carvd N Stone. “Like this movie is about this badass family. This couple on the run and how they will go to the ends of the earth to protect their child.”
Screenwriter Leon Chills also used his family as inspiration when writing the script. One of his major focuses was showing a very involved Black father on screen.
“Before writing it, I was very intentional about wanting to have the most extreme version of a present Black father because usually in the media we get the negative version of an absent Black father. And then the mom was inspired by my mom, a working mom who does whatever she can to protect us and look out for us,” Chills told Carvd N Stone.
Chills has three sons himself who motivate him to be a better father so making this film was important to him.
Stephen “Dr.” Love was a producer on this film. His past work includes Netflix’s They Cloned Tyrone. Love is a fan of action movies but wanted to be a part of something that reflected himself in it.
“Just the existence of this movie is somewhat radical right. I love Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I love John Wick. I love all of these big action franchise movies, but I wanted to see myself in some of it. I wanted to see my family in some of it. My mom and dad and how they cared for me as a kid,” Dr. Love told Carvd N Stone. “And so I wanted to see that in an action movie. And when Leon Chills wrote the script and brought it to me it was a no-brainer.”
Shadow Force involves hard action, comedy, and real relationships.
2025 Ossie Davis Award Recipient
Reasonable Doubt star Emayatzy Corinealdi was in attendance at the Atlanta Film Festival to give Washington the 2025 Ossie Davis Award for Innovation in Filmmaking. She took some time to chat with Carvd N Stone about seeing Washington continue to elevate in her career.
“Kerry has been such a huge supporter of me you know from the beginning and so she’s always made me feel welcome. She’s made me feel encouraged, so to have the honor to present her with this Ossie Davis Award is really wonderful for me. So as soon as they asked me I said absolutely,” Corinealdi told Carvd N Stone.
The Ossie Davis Award is given to individuals who, like Ossie Davis, promote human dignity and social justice through their creative work. Washington was recognized for her contributions in film, television, and production. Past Ossie Davis Award recipients include Spike Lee, Cicely Tyson, and Keke Palmer.
Check out our video interviews from the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival here.
Nyesha Stone founded Carvd N Stone in 2017 to cover positive news while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Stone has a B.A. in Journalism. She has raised over $30,000 to award grants and scholarships. She has also been featured in ESSENCE and worked with the American Black Film Festival.
