Adia, a 25-year-old actress, is making her feature film debut in “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” starring alongside Mahershala Ali. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be released theatrically by Amazon MGM Studios and Orion Pictures.
Adia initially pursued a career in dance before a hip injury led her to acting. She has already appeared in Netflix’s “The Midnight Club” and HBO Max’s “Full Circle.” She described the transition as a natural progression, stating, “Things started to fall in place as soon as I started pursuing acting, and it’s just snowballed. It’s just very surreal.”
In “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” Ali plays Latif, an assassin navigating single fatherhood after his wife’s death, and Adia portrays his teenage daughter, Fatiha. Adia was drawn to the role because of the character’s complexity, noting, “That’s how young, teenage girls are. But when we see them being portrayed on screen, generally speaking, they are not [complex]. They’re pretty black and white.” She explained that Fatiha is dealing with grief and stepping into a maternal role for her siblings, offering a more nuanced portrayal of a teenage girl. “This girl has crushes, yeah, but that’s the least of her,” Adia said. “She is dealing with very deep grief. Then also having to rise to the occasion to be in a maternal role to her siblings.”
Director Bassam Tariq met with Adia in Washington, D.C., during a break from her film studies with acclaimed Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima. Tariq asked her how she envisioned bringing Fatiha to life, and Adia did some research into the meaning of the name. The film will debut in NYC/LA theaters on September 25, with a nationwide rollout in October.
Alongside her acting career, Adia is also a certified doula, stating that “birth work fills my soul.”
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