Selma Blair joins huge 6-star cast of mystical Purim film

Selma Blair has joined Bridget Stokes’ mystical coming-of-age film “Schmoolie the Deathwatcher,” playing Schmoolie’s aunt, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The film follows four misfit Jewish teens in Los Angeles during Purim. Along the way, they face grief, loss, anxiety and fear while dealing with disability, sexual identity and growing up, with supernatural elements woven through the story.

The “Schmoolie the Deathwatcher” cast and creative team

Isaac Krasner plays the title character, while Luenell, Ariel Martin, David Mazouz and Sania Halifa round out the ensemble. Stokes, who won an Emmy for her work on “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” directs from a script by Theresa Burkhart Gallagher.

The feature grows out of Gallagher’s 2015 short film of the same name, directed by Michael Ray Escamilla. That nine-minute short followed an Orthodox Jewish teen on his first night alone guarding a body awaiting burial, according to the Marfa Film Festival, which screened it.

Supporting cast

Ariel Martin, the social media star known as Baby Ariel, plays one of the four teens in “Schmoolie the Deathwatcher.” Her online reach is huge: She has more than 10 million Instagram followers, and Time and Forbes have both singled her out as an influential internet personality. She also won a Teen Choice Award for “Choice Muser” and appears in the “Spring Breakers” sequel, per THR.

Selma Blair’s recent work and advocacy

Selma Blair is best known for “Cruel Intentions” and “Legally Blonde.” She recently starred in “Stay Forte,” a drama set against the Israel-Hamas war.

Her upcoming projects, per The Hollywood Reporter, include “Ethan Almighty” with Sean Patrick Flannery, the “S.W.A.T.” spinoff “Exiles” and a new season of “Criminal Minds: Evolution.”

Off screen, Blair became a prominent disability advocate after she went public with her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Time, Glamour and British Vogue have all recognized her, naming her to their People of the Year, Women of the Year and Megastars lists, respectively.

What’s next

Cameras are set to roll on “Schmoolie the Deathwatcher” in Los Angeles in late February, with Selma Blair joining Krasner and the rest of the ensemble. No release date has been announced.

Reporting from The Hollywood Reporter contributed to this story.

Featured image: Photo: Joella Marano / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)