''I Will Follow'' is a 2010 American
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film written and directed by
Ava DuVernay
Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...
, who also produced the film with
Molly Mayeux
Molly M. Mayeux is an American producer. She got her start as a production runner on the film Everybody's All-American in 1988. As of 2012, she is credited in the production of more than 40 films. She is the founder and president of Dahlia Street ...
. It stars
Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield () is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series '' ...
,
Omari Hardwick
Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James "Ghost" St. Patrick, the protagonist of Starz's ''Power'' and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder's ''Army of the Dead'' (2021). He is also kn ...
,
Blair Underwood
Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series '' L.A. Law''.
Underwood has ...
and
Beverly Todd
Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946) is an American actress, producer and writer. She is known for her roles in films '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Moving'' (1988), '' Lean on Me'' (1989) and ''The Bucket List'' (2007).
On television, Todd appeared ...
.
Plot
Maye (
Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield () is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series '' ...
) is a successful artist who has taken a leave from work to care for her ill aunt, Amanda (
Beverly Todd
Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946) is an American actress, producer and writer. She is known for her roles in films '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Moving'' (1988), '' Lean on Me'' (1989) and ''The Bucket List'' (2007).
On television, Todd appeared ...
). As the film begins, Maye is moving out of the home she once shared with Amanda after her death and contemplating her relationships, her career, her past and her future.
Cast
*
Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield () is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series '' ...
as Maye
*
Omari Hardwick
Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James "Ghost" St. Patrick, the protagonist of Starz's ''Power'' and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder's ''Army of the Dead'' (2021). He is also kn ...
as Troy
*
Michole Briana White
Michole Briana White (born May 29, 1969) is an American actress.
Life and career
White was born in Maywood, Illinois. She is known for her role as attorney Fatima Kelly in the A&E series ''100 Centre Street''. She has also guest starred in a ...
as Fran
* Dijan Talton as Raven
*
Tracie Thoms
Tracie Nicole Thoms is an Emmy-nominated American television, film, and stage actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''Rent'', ''Cold Case'', '' The Devil Wears Prada'', ''Death Proof'', and the short-lived Fox television series ''Wo ...
as Tiffany
* Damone Roberts as Damone
*
Blair Underwood
Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series '' L.A. Law''.
Underwood has ...
as Evan
*
Beverly Todd
Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946) is an American actress, producer and writer. She is known for her roles in films '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Moving'' (1988), '' Lean on Me'' (1989) and ''The Bucket List'' (2007).
On television, Todd appeared ...
as Amanda
** Kiki Walls as Young Amanda
* Phalana Tiller as Christine
* Tony Perez as Tuliau
* Ramon Leon as Ramon
* Royale Watkins as Roy
*
Owen H.M. Smith as Chuck
* Robert Silver as Benjamin
*
J.R. Ramirez
J. R. Ramirez is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his series regular role of Detective Jared Vasquez on the NBC/Netflix series ''Manifest''. Prior, he was a series regular as Julio on the Starz series ''Power'' and as Oscar Arocho on ...
as Percy
*
Kiara Muhammad
Kiara Muhammad (born December 16, 1998) is an American actress.
Muhammad was born on December 16, 1998, in Boston, Massachusetts. At a young age, she started her career by being in photoshoots for Reebok.
Muhammad voiced the main character in ' ...
as Ronda, Fran's Daughter
* Scotty Noyd Jr. as Fran's Son
* Olivia Alvarado as Fran's Baby
Production
''I Will Follow'' was shot in 11 days on location in
Topanga Canyon
Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...
, California, on a $50,000 budget. Its title was taken from the
U2 song of the same name.
Release
''I Will Follow'' made its world premiere in New York City at the 2010 Urbanworld Film Festival, where it won audience honors. It also played at the 2010
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
and the 2010
AFI Film Festival
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
. The film had a
limited release
__FORCETOC__
Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
on March 11, 2011. Film critic
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film three and a half out of four stars.
Accolades
*
African-American Film Critics Association
The African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) is the world's largest group of Black film critics that gives various annual awards for excellence in film and television. It was founded in 2003 in New York City.
History
The association wa ...
** 2011, Best Screenplay:
Ava DuVernay
Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...
(Winner)
*
Black Reel Awards
The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...
** 2012, Best Screenplay:
Ava DuVernay
Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...
(Nominated)
** 2012, Best Director:
Ava DuVernay
Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...
(Nominated)
*
Image Awards
** 2012, Outstanding Independent Motion Picture (Nominated)
See also
*
List of black films of the 2010s
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2010 films
African-American drama films
Films directed by Ava DuVernay
2010 drama films
Films shot in California
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
{{2010s-drama-film-stub