Jael Drives the Nail

Winner of The Pitch 2024, Jael Drives the Nail is a cinematic exploration of the gruesome death of General Sisera at the hands of a woman. New Yorker cartoonist & screenwriter Maddie Dai also directed this epic Biblical short film in 2024 with Reel Issues Films producer Luke Walton and Jackie Sheppard of Footprint Films. 

Set in Biblical times, this film tells the overlooked story of Jael, who single-handedly kills the enemy general Sisera by driving a nail through his temple. Jael Drives the Nail is given a modern dark comedic twist as two of Jael’s friends join her in plotting Sisera’s demise. 

The biblical source comes from Judges 3: 21 “Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.” 

Jael Drives The Nail is currently in post-production as of summer 2024