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Is God Is<\/em>, playwright Aleshea Harris<\/a>\u2019s epic tale of family trauma and vengeance, is also a story of feminine strength. It was only appropriate, then, that Harris adapt it herself.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was baptism by fire,\u201d the Pulitzer Prize finalist says of writing and directing the play\u2019s new film adaptation, out May 15, which happens to both begin and end with conflagrations.<\/p>\n Following twin sisters on a cross-country mission of revenge, Harris\u2019s play premiered Off Broadway in 2018 to critical praise and multiple extensions. It had always been Harris\u2019s plan to turn the work into a screenplay, but it was only at the urging of her friends and colleagues that she stepped behind the camera. \u201cAs a playwright, I have really strong ideas, probably to the frustration of some directors I\u2019ve worked with, about how things should be performed,\u201d Harris says. \u201cIt\u2019s really because of the women around me, who believed in me, that I was able to do that. By the time we were pitching to the studio, it was kind of a package deal.\u201d<\/p>\n