Jemma Chan reflects on 'difficult subject matter' portrayed in 'Josephine'

Jemma Chan had a deeply personal experience making Josephine.

In Josephine, Jemma and Channning Tatum play married couple Claire and Damien, who’re faced with a difficult situation when their eight-year-old daughter witnesses a brutal rape in a park. 

Along with helping the child deal with the psychological impact of seeing a rape happen, they battle with the decision of whether they should let her testify in court.

Josephine’s storyline is inspired by a similar personal experience of director Beth de Araújo. The Crazy Rich Asians star has herself witnessed a fatal stabbing and testified in court.

"It was a big part of me wanting to be a part of the story and connecting to it emotionally," she told Variety. "The world is a very dangerous place. Unfortunately, I know that and many people know that. It just really hit a raw nerve with me."

Beth first sent the script to Jemma in 2019 and the actress became the first to sign on.

"I really believed in her vision for the film and it just felt like there was so much truth in every page of the script," she said.

"It was attempting to tell a story that I didn’t feel had been told in that way before. This is very challenging, difficult subject matter, but I never felt that she was coming at it from an angle that was exploitative or trying to sensationalize anything," she added.

However, the film got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It finally began filming in 2024 after both Jemma and Channing signed on as producers, as well as David Kaplan.

Josephine premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to great praise and won the the grand jury prize and audience award.