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"Just trying to figure out what side you're really on..." Lightbulb Film Distribution in the UK has debuted their own official trailer for a US indie film called Deadland, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Lance Larson. This premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival last year and we posted a trailer then for its festival unveiling. The film is described as a psychological thriller - U.S. Border Patrol Agent, Angel Waters, makes a routine apprehension that will haunt him forever. "Though the immigrant he took into custody is killed at a border outpost, his death is only the beginning of the suffering Angel must endure... Set against the backdrop of the harsh and desolate Rio Grande river, Deadland uses the American and Mexican border as a launching pad to explore not only immigration but identity." The film stars Roberto Urbina as Angel, McCaul Lombardi, Julieth Restrepo, Kendal Rae, Luis Chavez,...

Exclusive: Vertical has picked up U.S. rights to Deadland, a thriller led by Roberto Urbina (TNT’s Snowpiercer), which world premiered at SXSW 2023. Marking the directorial debut of Lance Larson, the film is slated for a day-and-date release on November 3rd.

Urbina stars as U.S. Border agent Angel Waters, who comes across what would normally be a routine illegal crossing, but quickly spirals into his worst nightmare. In a tragic twist of fate, a detained immigrant is killed while being held at a remote border outpost. Days later, Angel is called back to the river where he is met with a terrifying sight — the same migrant that died is standing at the river’s edge. As strange phenomena begin to overtake his life, he soon learns that on this land, that which dies doesn’t always stay dead.

Starring alongside Urbina are McCaul Lombardi (American Honey), Julieth Restrepo...

"I saw you praying in the desert. I was there." A festival trailer is out for an indie film called Deadland, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Lance Larson. The film is premiering at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival coming up in March, playing in the Narrative Spotlight section this year. The film is described as a pyschological thriller - U.S. Border Patrol Agent, Angel Waters, makes a routine apprehension that will haunt him forever. "Though the immigrant he took into custody is killed at a border outpost, his death is only the beginning of the suffering Angel must endure... Set against the backdrop of the harsh and desolate Rio Grande river, Deadland uses the American and Mexican border as a launching pad to explore not only immigration but identity." This stars Roberto Urbina as Angel, McCaul Lombardi, Julieth Restrepo, Kendal Rae, Luis Chavez, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Manuel Uriza,...

Screen Rant is proud to present an exclusive first look at the trailer for Deadland, which is set to have its world premiere at SXSW on March 13. Written and directed by Lance Larson as his feature film debut, Deadland follows U.S. Border agent Angel Waters as what should be a routine illegal crossing turns into his personal nightmare. Though the immigrant he took into custody is killed at a border outpost, his death is only the beginning of the suffering Angel must endure.

In addition to Urbina, Deadland stars a strong ensemble cast that includes McCaul Lombardi, Julieth Restrepo, Kendal Rae, Luis Chavez, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Manuel Uriza, Chris Mulkey, Chris White, and Dave Maldonado. As seen in the trailer below, the eerie story is equal parts thriller and psychological character study.

Related: The Best Action Movies Of 2022

More About Deadland at SXSW

The trailer for Deadland, which Screen...

Funny Birds

Marco La Via and Hanna Ladoul first landed on the scene (and the 2018 Acid section in Cannes) with Nous Les Coyotes which along the way was translated to “Anywhere with You” starring Morgan Saylor and McCaul Lombardi. Fast forward to October of 2022 and they landed the Catherine Deneuve, Andrea Riseborough and Saylor once again for a low budget mystery film filmed in Brussels and in the US. Funny Birds is a generational hodge-podge with damaged relationships.

Gist: Thrown together under tragic circumstances, three generations of women from the same family are forced to learn to live together on a small rural chicken farm in New Jersey, which generates moving and amusing situations.…...

Exclusive: Signature Entertainment has made one of its highest-profile acquisitions to date with UK & Irish rights to Elegance Bratton’s well-received military drama The Inspection from A24.

Inspired by Bratton’s own story, the TIFF, New York and Lff title follows a young, gay, Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, who decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in an unforgiving system. As he battles deep-seated prejudice and the gruelling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in his new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and change his life.

Written and directed by Bratton (Pier Kids) and produced by Effie T. Brown (Dear White People) and Chester Algernal Gordon (Port Authority), the film stars Jeremy Pope (One Night in Miami), Bokeem Woodbine (Halo), Gabrielle Union (Bring It On...

The Inspection Review — The Inspection (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Elegance Bratton and starring Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Nicholas Logan, Eman Esfandi, Aaron Dominguez, Aubrey Joseph, Andrew Kai, Tyler Merritt, Steve Mokate, Brad Napp, Daniel Williamson and Wynn Reichert. Filmmaker Elegance Bratton’s film, The [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: The Inspection (2022): Elegance Bratton’s Film Features a Star-Making Performance by Jeremy Pope...

At the start of Elegance Bratton’s debut feature, The Inspection, Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) — based on Bratton himself — leaves home to join the Marines. It isn’t much of a home to begin with. This isn’t where he lives. His mother, Inez (Gabrielle Union), kicked him out years earlier for being gay. She is not exactly one to roll out the welcome mat when her son visits — not even if he’s only stopping by to inform her of this new chapter in his life. But the news does get her attention.

Jeremy Pope as Ellis French in Elegance Bratton’s The Inspection. Photo: A24 The Inspection isn’t a perfect movie, but there are times when it feels like it’s tantalizingly close. In his directorial debut, Elegance Bratton’s very personal story about a young gay soldier subverts the familiar...

The Inspection Trailer 2 — A24 has released the second movie trailer for The Inspection (2022). Crew Elegance Bratton‘s The Inspection stars Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Aaron Dominguez, and Nicholas Logan. Elegance Bratton wrote the screenplay for The Inspection. Produced by Chester Algernal Gordon and Effie Brown. Plot Synopsis The Inspection‘s plot [...]

Continue reading: The Inspection (2022) Movie Trailer 2: Jeremy Pope enlists in the U.S. Marines in A24’s Drama Film...

"I am never giving up on us." A24 has debuted a striking "promo trailer" for The Inspection, which just premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival last month and is playing at the New York Film Festival this month. It's the narrative debut of filmmaker Elegance Bratton - a remarkable retelling of the filmmaker’s own life story. The film follows a young man who enlists in the Marine Corps after being thrown out of his mother’s home because he is gay. After being rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, he joins the Marines trying to do whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. Starring Jeremy Pope as Ellis French (in what looks to be a major breakout performance), with Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Aaron Dominguez, and Nicholas Logan. This 60-second trailer includes a brief intro from Gabrielle Union,...

“If we got rid of every gay man in the military, there would be no military,” a sympathetic officer tells Marine recruit Ellis French in “The Inspection.” That’s an exceptionally open-minded take on the United States’ “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, seeing as how pretty much everyone else French encounters at boot camp is openly hostile to there being a gay man among them. But writer-director Elegance Bratton made it through the system — like the character, he’d been lost and homeless for a decade before enlisting — and this deeply personal narrative debut is one gay Black man’s way of showing how he not only survived the experience, but was strengthened by it. “The few, the proud,” as they say.

To play himself — er, French — Bratton tapped Emmy nominee Jeremy Pope (“Hollywood”), soon to be seen as Basquiat on Broadway in “The Collaboration.” Pope gives a...

We know that Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) survives — and thrives, we hope — because Elegance Bratton survived. And, yes, thrived: turning his deeply painful, wonderfully human life story into his first narrative feature, the remarkable “The Inspection.” Bratton’s artful eye previously caught the attention of the indie documentary community, care of his rich “Pier Kids,” and he seamlessly carries over his ability to navigate complex human emotions (read: complex humans) into his own attempt at an autobiography. How lucky we are he is here to tell this story and, as ever, we can only hope to tell more.

Loosely based on Bratton’s own unexpected early aughts entry into the military, the 2005-set “The Inspection” follows young Ellis French, a young, gay, unhoused Black man struggling through life in New Jersey. Ellis has already decided his next step before we meet him, but as we enter into his orbit, he...

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An acutely personal drama shimmering with the raw pain, pride and hard-won elation of lived experience, The Inspection marks an accomplished narrative feature debut for writer-director Elegance Bratton, who draws on his own story to create one of the most stirring portraits of queer Black masculinity since Moonlight. This unguarded autobiographical work also provides a stellar vehicle for theater discovery Jeremy Pope in his first leading screen role. He plays a young man shunned by his family and determined to avoid becoming another casualty of life on the streets, who chooses the tough path of Marine Corps enlistment in order to prove his value as a man.

Bratton comes from a nonfiction background. He made his first feature doc with Pier Kids, about homeless LGBTQ youth in New York, and was creator and exec producer of the Viceland series My House, on the underground competitive ballroom scene.

"If I die in this uniform, I'm a hero… to somebody." A24 has revealed the first trailer for The Inspection, marking the narrative feature debut of filmmaker Elegance Bratton. This is already getting lots of good buzz and it hasn't even started showing yet. The film is premiering at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival, and it will also screen at the New York Film Festival this fall. Bratton's remarkable debut, a retelling of the filmmaker’s own life story, follows a man who joins the Marine Corps after being thrown out of his mother’s home at 16 for being gay. After being rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, he joins the Marines doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. Starring Jeremy Pope as Ellis French (in what looks to be a major breakout performance), with Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine,...

A24 is bringing a real-life story about a young man's fight for survival to the silver screen. Jeremy Pope, best known for starring in Netflix's "Hollywood" and FX's "Pose," stars in his first leading film role in "The Inspection," a gripping autobiographical tale that follows his character's emotional journey to join the Marine Corps after being thrown out by his mother (played by Gabrielle Union) for being gay, per the film's trailer, which released on Aug. 23.

According to A24, the Elegance Bratton-directed feature is inspired by the filmmaker's own life story. The film, which Bratton also wrote, will premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival, held Sept. 8–18, as well as at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 14 as a closing selection.

"I'm incredibly humbled that my debut feature film will close the New York Film Festival this year," Bratton said in a press statement. "So many of...

Quickly emerging as one of the most-anticipated fall festival premieres, Elegance Bratton’s narrative debut The Inspection has locked in coveted spots at both TIFF (Opening Night Film of its Discovery section) and NYFF (as Closing Night selection). Ahead of the premieres, and a fall release from A24, the first trailer has arrived for the film led by Jeremy Pope, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Aaron Dominguez with Bokeem Woodbine and Gabrielle Union.

Inspired by Bratton’s own life, the film follows a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, who decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that...

Weeks before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, military drama film “The Inspection” has received a first trailer from A24. The distributor has also set a Nov. 18 theatrical release date.

“The Inspection” is the narrative debut for writer-director Elegance Bratton, who previously helmed the feature documentary “Pier Kids,” which followed homeless queer youth in New York, and the Vice docuseries “My House,” which followed competitive ballroom dancing.

Bratton pulled from his own experiences as a gay man in Marine Corps basic training during the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell era for “The Inspection.” The drama stars Jeremy Pope as Ellis French, a troubled man who enlists after being rejected by his mother (Gabrielle Union). While in training, Ellis receives brutal abuse from his training sergeant (Bokeem Woodbine) and develops an attraction to one of his superiors (Raúl Castillo). The film’s cast also includes McCaul Lombardi and Aaron Dominguez.

Martin Scorsese is executive producer on second feature from LA-based French directorial duo Hanna Ladoul and Marco La Via.

TF1 Studio has added French directorial duo Hanna Ladoul and Marco La Via’s English-language comedy-drama Funny Birds to its Cannes market slate.

Catherine Deneuve, Andrea Riseborough and Morgan Saylor are set to star as three generations of women from the same family.

Thrown together under tragic circumstances, the trio are forced to learn to live together on a small rural chicken farm in New Jersey which generates moving and amusing situations.

It is the second feature from LA-based Ladoul and...

Exclusive: Roberto Urbina (Snowpiercer), McCaul Lombardi (American Honey), Julieth Restrepo (Loving Pablo), Kendal Rae (2 Broke Girls), Luis Chávez (Ocean’s Thirteen), Julio César Cedillo (Sicario), Manuel Uriza (Rambo: Last Blood) and Chris Mulkey (On the Basis of Sex) will star in Deadland, an indie thriller from director Lance Larson, which has wrapped production in Oklahoma and Texas.

The film centers on border agent Angel Waters (Urbina), who is called to investigate a man who walks the harsh plains of the South Texas desert, finding that what should be a routine apprehension quickly turns into his worst nightmare.

In an unexpected turn of events, the migrant is accidentally killed, with Waters and his fellow officers quickly burying the body in the desert. They swear to an oath of silence—but the migrant refuses to stay silent.

Larson and Jas Shelton wrote the script, with David Elliot providing creative supervision. Larson and...

Oscar-winner Al Pacino and Meadow Williams star in American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally, the historical drama hitting select theaters this Memorial Day weekend via Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment. Michael Polish directed the film, which is based on a true story and follows the life of American woman Mildred Gillars (Williams) and her lawyer (Pacino), who struggle to redeem her reputation.

Dubbed “Axis Sally” for broadcasting Nazi propaganda to American troops during World War II, Mildred’s story exposes the dark underbelly of the Third Reich’s hate-filled propaganda machine, her eventual capture in Berlin, and subsequent trial for treason against the United States after the war.

Mitch Pileggi, Thomas Kretschmann, Lala Kent, Carsten Norgaard, and Swen Temmel round out the cast. The pic, which is based on William E. Owen’s novel, Axis Sally Confidential, is also available on-demand. William and Vance Owen’s book Axis Sally Confidential,...

Premiering back at Cannes Film Festival in 2019, Danielle Lessovitz’s drama Port Authority will finally be arriving this summer. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and starring Leyna Bloom, Fionn Whitehead, and McCaul Lombardi, the film follows a young man who arrives to NYC with nowhere to go. A momentary encounter with Wye (Leyna Bloom), a trans woman of color, leads him to seek her out, but things soon get more complicated as their relationship blossoms. Ahead of a May 28 release, the first trailer and poster have arrived.

Ed Frankl said in his review, “A deceptively simple romance doesn’t take away that there is something quietly radical at work in the New York love story Port Authority, set in the underground Kiki ballroom dance community. This is grounded in a believable reality, directed by first-timer Danielle Lessovitz, executive produced by Martin Scorsese and starring a promising Fionn Whitehead and Leyna Bloom,...

Momentum Pictures has debuted a new trailer for the executive produced by Martin Scorsese, trans love story, ‘Port Authority’.

After getting kicked out of his home in central Pennsylvania, Paul (Fionn Whitehead) arrives at NYC’s dizzying central station with nowhere to go. A momentary encounter with Wye (Leyna Bloom), a trans woman of colour, leads him to seek her out. Transfixed by her beauty and confidence, a love soon blossoms. But as the two learn more about each other, Paul’s false narratives begin to surface and the double life he lives must be reconciled.

Written and directed by Danielle Lessovitz and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the film stars Leyna Bloom (the first black/Asian trans woman to be featured in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (coming out this Summer 2021), the first trans woman of colour to lead a feature film at the Cannes Film Festival and...

"Who says I like you?" Momentum Pictures has released an official US trailer for the indie titled Port Authority, which originally premiered back in 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. Marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Danielle Lessovitz, Port Authority is a love story set in New York's kiki ballroom scene. The story follows Paul, a 20 year old from Pennsylvania, who arrives at NYC's central bus station and quickly catches eyes with Wye, a Black trans girl voguing on the sidewalk. After Paul seeks her out in secret, an intense love between them blossoms. But when Paul discovers Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his own identity and what it means to belong... Fionn Whitehead stars as Paul, and Leyna Bloom stars as Wye, with a small cast including McCaul Lombardi, Louisa Krause, and William Dufault. It's also executive produced and presented by Martin Scorsese!