EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Love, Brooklyn, an acclaimed indie drama produced by and starring André Holland (Exhibiting Forgiveness), which premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, the film is the second Sundance acquisition for Greenwich in as many weeks, on the heels of Cole Webley’s Omaha starring John Magaro. It’ll be released in theaters nationwide later this year.
Marking the directorial debut of Rachael Abigail Holder, Love, Brooklyn follows three longtime Brooklynites as they navigate careers, love, loss and friendship against the rapidly shifting landscape of their beloved city. Roger (Holland) is a writer fighting to maintain his creative integrity in the commercially driven publishing industry. Behind on a deadline, Roger distracts himself by hanging with his old flame Casey (Nicole Beharie), an art gallery owner wrestling with the fate of her struggling business in their rapidly gentrifying borough. Once lovers, they’ve attempted to convert their chemistry into a tentative friendship. Meanwhile, Roger is developing a new romance with Nicole (DeWanda Wise), a recently widowed mother who remains hesitant to open her heart to new love.
As Nicole’s bond with Roger grows, so do their fears of vulnerability and commitment. And despite Casey’s uneasy peace with Roger, old wounds and attractions begin to reemerge. As the city changes around them, all three are forced to contend with a past that won’t let go, and a future that is anything but certain.
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Others in the cast include Cassandra Freeman, Cadence Reese and Roy Wood Jr. Paul Zimmerman penned the script for the Harper Road, Daughter Films, Fireheart Entertainment, and Umbrelic Entertainment production. In addition to Holland, producers included Maurice Anderson, Patrick Wengler (Harper Road), Kate Sharp (Daughter Films) and Liza Zusman, with Soderbergh, Andy Steinman, Jeffrey Deary, Thomas Zambeck, Brian Katz, Anish Gupta, Lance Blaise, Alexander Leff, Holder, and Sara McFarlane serving as EPs.
“I’m incredibly proud of Love, Brooklyn!,” Holland told Deadline. “At Harper Road, we believe there is an audience for this movie and that it will connect with people on a deep level. I wanted to make a movie that invited an audience into black characters’ real lives to witness them simply existing, without relying on overly heightened circumstances to justify the story. There’s a beauty in watching these characters living their complicated lives and I’m incredibly proud to have produced and starred in this film.”
Continued Holland, “We managed to assemble an all-star team in front of and behind the camera and have made an old-school, grown up movie that we think people will dig! I’m excited and grateful to be in partnership with the Greenwich team as we send this project out into the world.”
EP Soderbergh added, “It’s about passion and it’s about belief. The passion Greenwich has shown about the film is the kind of passion that got the film made, and we all share the belief there’s a theatrical audience for a romance as satisfying as LOVE, BROOKLYN.”
Andy Bohn negotiated the deal for Greenwich, with CAA Media Finance representing the filmmakers.