Ella Anderson (Suncoast) and Juliette Lewis (Opus) will star in Jesus Land, a film adaptation from writer-director Saila Kariat (The Valley) of the 2005 memoir by Julia Scheeres. Deadline reported that the project "tells the true story of Julia and her adopted Black brother David, who struggle to navigate their tumultuous childhood in a harsh Christian Fundamentalist home amid the bigotry of '80s rural Indiana. When the teens rebel against their abusive parents Ruth and Hank, they are sent to a reform school in the Dominican Republic called Escuela Caribe." The movie's plot "is inspired by both the memoir and real-life accounts from former students of Escuela Caribe, detailing the traumatic experiences they endured there."
Anderson plays 16-year-old Julia, with Lewis as her mother, Ruth. The cast also includes Xavier Jones, Bryce Johnson, Nikki Roumel, Kristian Bruun, Kelly Sullivan, Jared Scott, Geogia Waehler, Sarah Brine, Jackson Coppins, Jimmy Ace Lewis, Mark Valeriano, and Emma Naumovska.
Andrea Batista, Saila Kariat, Karen Wilder, Rigele Abilock, Leslie Isackson, and Rick Moore are exec producers on the project, co-produced by Kariat. Adrienne Stern handled casting.