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It’s a paradox: Acting without artifice is so often the aim, but the craft of performance is typically enhanced by study and training. In short, being a good actor isn’t easy, but making it look easy is key. It’s a sink-or-swim proposition for all new actors, but especially those who enter into the field without formal training or are tossed into their first feature before even tacitly deciding that they even want to be actors. But the rewards can be huge, and this year has proven that in spades, from star turns from newcomers like Brooklynn Prince and Bria Vinaite in Sean Baker’s festival favorite (and major awards contender) “The Florida Project” to rodeo rider Brady Jandreau, cast as himself in Chloe Zhao’s Cannes breakout “The Rider.”

Read More:‘The Florida Project’ First Trailer: Sean Baker and Willem Dafoe Deliver One of the Year’s Best Indies

But Prince,...

First films are a mixed bag. Some feature debuts are inspired pieces of fully formed cinematic vision, while others seem like they could have come straight from a laboratory. However, not all have names like David Gordon Green and James Schamus attached, and even fewer have the type of buzz following it out of prestigious festivals such as Sundance or Berlin the way that Amman Abbassi’s premiere picture does.

Entitled Dayveon, Abbassi’s film is one of extreme specificity, and yet profound humanity. Devin Blackmon stars as the titular lead, a young 13-year-old who is doing his best to cope with the recent death of his older brother, gunned down in an act of devastating violence. With his home life shattered, despite the genuine attempts made by his sister and her boyfriend Bryan to bring some semblance of normalcy and balance to it, Dayveon slowly floats into the circle of a local gang.

Devin Blackmon, as Dayveon, making his first appearance on camera, brings reservoirs of pain, anger and vulnerability to his role.

Throughout cinema’s history, gangster life has often been depicted in glamorous fashion with an endless access to drugs, guns, women, sports cars, and mansions. Even if these lives are short-lived, filmmakers have long venerated their excess, and one glance at popular culture confirms audiences have reciprocated the fascination. For the characters of Dayveon, however, this way of life is grounded in economic necessity. With the ensemble of mostly non-actors never less than utterly convincing, Amman Abbasi’s debut drama is captivating in its immediacy. Ahead of a release this week, we’re pleased to debut an exclusive clip thanks to FilmRise.

“Utilizing a 4:3 ratio, cinematographer Dustin Lane takes a page from the Robbie Ryan handbook with his symmetrical framing and vibrant color palette reminiscent of the films of Andrea Arnold, finding beauty in both the Arkansas skyline and the black bodies that command the frame,” I said in my review.

“Everything stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.” That’s the first thought we hear from Dayveon (Devin Blackmon), the 13-year-old protagonist of Amman Abbasi’s heartfelt debut. And it’s hard to argue with him. Dayveon is suffering from so much senseless sadness, he may as well be literally mired in the backroads mud surrounding his Arkansas home. He lives in a bare, isolated cabin with his sister Kim (Chasity Moore), who loves him but is focused on finding work and raising her toddler (Lachion Buckingham Jr). Dayveon’s father is absent, in seemingly every way. His mother is gone too, perhaps driven mad by grief.

"You in this now, ain't no turning back." FilmRise has unveiled the first official trailer for the indie drama Dayveon, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Dayveon is written and directed by filmmaker Amman Abbasi, who also produced, edited and composed the music for the film. Set in a small rural town in Arkansas, the story follows a boy named Dayveon struggling with his older brother’s death. With no parents and few role models, he soon falls in with the local gang. Despite attempts to pull him out, he ends up being pulled further into this world. The cast includes newcomer Devin Blackmon as Dayveon, as well as Kordell "Kd" Johnson, Dontrell Bright, Chasity Moore, Lachion Buckingham, and Marquell Manning. This had some good buzz coming out of Sundance, looks like it could be a solid film. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Amman Abbasi's Dayveon,...

Throughout cinema’s history, gangster life has often been depicted in glamorous fashion with an endless access to drugs, guns, women, sports cars, and mansions. Even if these lives are short-lived, filmmakers have long venerated their excess, and one glance at popular culture confirms audiences have reciprocated the fascination. For the characters of Dayveon, however, this way of life is grounded in economic necessity. With the ensemble of mostly non-actors never less than utterly convincing, Amman Abbasi’s debut drama is captivating in its immediacy, despite a script that doesn’t feel fully formed Ahead of a release this fall, the first trailer has now landed.

“Utilizing a 4:3 ratio, cinematographer Dustin Lane takes a page from the Robbie Ryan handbook with his symmetrical framing and vibrant color palette reminiscent of the films of Andrea Arnold, finding beauty in both the Arkansas skyline and the black bodies that command the frame,...

The son of Pakistani immigrants, filmmaker Amman Abbasi grew up in Arkansas, where he still lives and works and which became the set for his debut feature. Departing from the details of his own adolescence, “Dayveon” follows a black teenager over one sweltering summer when he falls in with a local gang. Searching for community in the wake of his older brother’s death, he is drawn to the sense of belonging and violence of his new comrades.

Read More:‘The Florida Project’ First Trailer: Sean Baker and Willem Dafoe Deliver One of the Year’s Best Indies

“Executive produced by David Gordon Green, this poetic rural drama is graced with the same humanist shine that defined ‘George Washington,'” wrote IndieWire’s David Ehrlich in his review out of Sundance earlier this year. “Amman Abbasi’s debut feature revitalizes a familiar coming-of-age story by telling it with a rare sense of truth…...

Exclusive: Ryan Kampe arrives at the Efm with a sales roster that includes Sundance premieres Family Life and Columbus, Rotterdam entries X500 and Rat Film, and Oscar-nominated Tanna.

Kevin Ford, Smriti Keshari, and Eric Schlosser’s Berlinale Special selection documentary the bomb screens on Friday and explores the power and fascination of nuclear weapons. the bomb premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year as a multimedia installation.

Amman Abbasi’s feature directorial debut Dayveon premiered at Sundance last month and screens in Forum on Friday. Newcomer Devin Blackmon plays the eponymous 13-year-old grieving the loss of his older brother who falls in with a local gang. FilmRise acquired North American rights after the premiere in Park City.

Alicia Scherson and Cristián Jiménez’s Family Life premiered at Sundance before going to the Rotterdam Film Festival. Jorge Becker, Gabriela Arancibia, Blanca Lewin and Cristián Carvajal star in the story of a lonely fabulist who concocts a tale...

The Park City deals continued to roll in on Wednesday.

IFC Midnight has picked up Us rights from Films Distribution to Midnight selection Killing Ground.

Damien Power’s directorial debut follows a couple on a weekend getaway who discover an empty tent and a lone toddler.

Aaron Pedersen, Ian Meadows, Harriet Dyer and Aaron Glenane star. Joe Weatherstone and Lisa Shaunessy produced.

Meanwhile FilmRise has picked up North American rights from Visit Films to Dayveon and plans a late spring theatrical release slated.

Arkansas-based filmmaker Amman Abbasi makes his feature directorial debut on the Next drama, which stars newcomer Devin Blackmon as a 13-year-old mourning the death of his older brother who falls in with a local gang.

Abbasi produced alongside Lachion Buckingham and Alexander Uhlmann. Executive producers are David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Brandon James, Lisa Muskat, James Schamus, Joe Pirro, Todd Remis, Isaiah Smallman, and Barlow Jacobs.

FilmRise has acquired the North American rights to the rural drama “Dayveon,” which premiered last Friday in the Sundance Film Festival’s Next section. The film marks the feature debut for Arkansas-based filmmaker Amman Abbasi.

Read More: ‘Dayveon’ Review: Amman Abbasi’s Debut Pulls A Powerful Coming-Of-Age Story From The Rural Heart Of Arkansas

“Dayveon” follows a 13-year-old boy (newcomer Devin Blackmon) who is mourning the death of his older brother and spends his days roaming around his Arkansas town. After falling in with a local gang, he becomes attracted to the camaraderie and violence of their existence.

The film was produced by Abbasi, Lachion Buckingham, and Alexander Uhlmann and executive produced by David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Brandon James, Lisa Muskat, James Schamus, Joe Pirro, Todd Remis, Isaiah Smallman, and Barlow Jacobs.

“I feel privileged to have been able to share ‘Dayveon’ with audiences in Sundance and...

FilmRise has acquired North American rights to Dayveon , the feature-film debut of writer-director Amman Abbasi. This is coming off its world premiere as the opening film at the Sundance Film Festival’s Next sidebar. A spring theatrical release is planned. The pic centers on 13-year-old Dayveon (newcomer Devin Blackmon), who is mourning the death of his older brother and spends his days roaming around his rural Arkansas town. When Dayveon falls in with a local gang, he…...

The world inhabited by Dayveon (Devin Blackmon) is filled with the wild, raw beauty of the South, the barely existent convenience stores in derelict shopping strips that prop up the grim economy of rural neighborhoods, and the beat up clapboard houses where everyone struggles to make ends meet. To this thirteen year-old teenager, everything around him is “stupid” as he intones in the opening voiceover of the low-key “Dayveon,” the debut film from Amman Abbasi which acts as a calling card for strong directorial talents that are first displayed here, but are sure flourish even more powerfully in future efforts.

Continue reading Director Amman Abbasi Displays A Compelling Cinematic Voice With The Lyrical ‘Dayveon’ [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

Throughout cinema’s history, gangster life has often been depicted in glamorous fashion with an endless access to drugs, guns, women, sports cars, and mansions. Even if these lives are short-lived, filmmakers have long venerated their excess, and one glance at popular culture confirms audiences have reciprocated the fascination. For the characters of Dayveon, however, this way of life is grounded in economic necessity. With the ensemble of mostly non-actors never less than utterly convincing, Amman Abbasi’s debut drama is captivating in its immediacy, despite a script that doesn’t feel fully formed.

Following the gang-related death of his brother, the 13-year-old Dayveon (Devin Blackmon) is feeling like a lost soul, not wanting his sister Kim’s (Chasity Moore) live-in boyfriend, Bryan (Dontrell Bright) to replace his recently deceased family member.”Everything stupid,” our lead remarks in the opening scene as he bikes through his decaying Arkansas town. Although he’s quick to smile,...

“Look at that stupid house. Stupid tree. Stupid rock. Stupid concrete. Stupid people.” The voiceover continues like that in a low mumble as a 13-year-old black teen wheels his pink bike through the economically depressed Arkansas town that he calls home. “Everything stupid.”

A little movie about a little man with a huge hole in his heart, “Dayveon” gives its young title character (Devin Blackmon) plenty of reason to be frustrated with the world. His older brother, memorialized by the airbrushed portrait that hangs on Dayveon’s bedroom wall, was shot and killed in 2014, presumably as a result of some business involving the local sect of Bloods who hang out down the street. His name was Trevor, and a loaded handgun is the only thing he left behind. When he’s alone in the house, Dayveon dives into his shoebox of secret stuff and holds the weapon in his hands,...

Hailed one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces in 2016, Amman Abbasi makes his Sundance and feature film debut with Dayveon. The film stars Devin Blackmon as a 13-year-old kid coping with the violent death of his older brother in small-town Arkansas. Given the setting, age of the characters and Abbasi’s lyrical approach to the story, the film has strong echoes of George Washington by David Gordon Green, who served as an executive producer here. Below, Filmmaker speaks with Dayveon Dp Dustin Lane about his connection to the American South, shooting in a small town and his visual approach to this story. Filmmaker: How […]...

FilmRise has acquired North American rights to coming-of-age story Dayveon.

Amman Abbasi, 28-year-old Pakistani-American writer-director from Little Rock, Ark., makes his feature directorial debut with the film. The story centers on 13-year-old Dayveon (newcomer Devin Blackmon), who is mourning the death of his older brother and spends his days roaming around his rural Arkansas town. When Dayveon falls in with a local gang, he becomes increasingly drawn to the camaraderie and violence of their world.

"I feel privileged to have been able to share Dayveon with audiences in Sundance and am now excited for the next step of the...

Exclusive: Amman Abbasi’s Dayveon is making its world premiere as the opening-night film of the Sundance Film Festival’s Next sidebar. It’s Abbasi’s first feature, and he’s flanked by executive producers David Gordon Green and James Schamus who backing the play of Abbasi, a Little Rock, Ar native who wrote, directed, edited and composed the music for the movie. The pic centers on 13-year-old Dayveon (Devin Blackmon) who is initiated into a local gang of Bloods in his…...