The trailer for Dayveon is compelling in a way that feels strikingly familiar. In fact, the Sundance selection is already being called the next Moonlight by folks at IndieWire and The Hollywood Reporter—but this coming-of-age gang drama is different.
Dayveon (played by Devin Blackmon) is a 13-year-old Black boy living in Arkansas who is grappling with the death of his brother. With role models few and far between, he eventually finds himself in a local gang as he struggles to find his place within his adolescent world.
IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich said earlier this year: “This poetic rural drama is graced with the same humanist shine that defined ‘George Washington.’ Amman Abbasi’s debut feature revitalizes a familiar coming-of-age story by telling it with a rare sense of truth… Shot with raw specificity and a remarkable sense of place.”
Dayveon was executive produced by David Gordon Green and is in theaters next month.
Watch the trailer above.