The movie also features a particularly memorable scene in which Nyong’o’s character Miss Caroline strums out Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off on a ukulele to calm her class down in the middle of a violent zombie rampage.

The moment was particularly powerful for the actress because of the importance of that song in her life. “Shake It Off means a lot to me,” she told audiences after a screening of Little Monsters at the Sundance Film Festival.

When the song first came out, Nyong’o was struggling through a difficult period in her career while working on location away from her family and friends. “I was going through a hard time professionally and I was just in a funk,” Nyong’o recalled. “I was working abroad and my best friend came to cheer me up.”

Her best friend’s prescription for self care was a hefty dose of Taylor Swift’s ebullient, exuberant hit Shake It Off. “He played Shake It Off on his phone, and we just had a dance party in my bedroom,” Nyong’o recalled.

How Taylor Swift helped Lupita Nyong’o through a hard time in her life