''First Match'' is a 2018 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
written and directed by
Olivia Newman
Olivia Newman is an American film director and screenwriter. She is best known for directing '' First Match'' (2018) and '' Where the Crawdads Sing'' (2022).
Life and career
Newman was born in Hoboken, New Jersey and graduated from The Hudso ...
, based on her 2010 short film of the same name. The film stars Elvire Emanuelle,
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (; born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films ''Aquaman'' (2018) and '' Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama ...
,
Colman Domingo
Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director widely known for his performance as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011), and for his role as recovering drug addict Ali on HBO ...
,
Jharrel Jerome
Jharrel Jerome (born October 9, 1997) is an American actor and rapper who is best known for appearing in Barry Jenkins's acclaimed drama film ''Moonlight'' (2016), and for portraying Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries '' When They ...
, and Jared Kemp. The film premiered at the 2018
South by Southwest festival on March 12 where it won the Audience Award and the LUNA/Gamechanger Award. It was then released on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
on March 30, 2018.
Cast
* Elvire Emanuelle as Monique
*
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (; born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films ''Aquaman'' (2018) and '' Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama ...
as Darrel, Monique's father
*
Colman Domingo
Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director widely known for his performance as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011), and for his role as recovering drug addict Ali on HBO ...
as Coach Castile
*
Jharrel Jerome
Jharrel Jerome (born October 9, 1997) is an American actor and rapper who is best known for appearing in Barry Jenkins's acclaimed drama film ''Moonlight'' (2016), and for portraying Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries '' When They ...
as Omari
* Jared Kemp as Malik
*
Allen Maldonado
Allen Maldonado (born May 20, 1983) is an American actor and filmmaker best known for his roles as Curtis in ''Black-ish'' and Bobby in ''The Last O.G.'' He is also an entrepreneur and runs his own clothing line and an app called ''Everybody Digit ...
as Juan
Reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of , based on reviews, and an average rating of .
References
External links
*
2018 independent films
2010s sports drama films
2010s teen drama films
2018 films
American independent films
American teen drama films
Films set in Brooklyn
Films shot in New York City
English-language Netflix original films
Sport wrestling films
American sports drama films
Teen sports films
African-American drama films
2018 drama films
2018 directorial debut films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
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