Things are looking pretty Bleecker for Selenis Leyva.
Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the dramatic thriller 892, starring the 49-year-old Cuban and Dominican American actress and former Orange Is the New Black star.
Leyva is among a cast that includes John Boyega, the late Michael Kenneth Williams, Nicole Beharie Olivia Washington, Connie Britton, London Covington and Jeffrey Donovan.
The film recently made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it won its Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast.
Based on a true story, the feature directorial debut of Abi Damaris Corbin picks up with former U.S. Marine Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega) as his disability check from Veterans Affairs fails to materialize, watching as he finds himself on the brink of poverty. Desperate and with no other options, he walks into a Wells Fargo Bank and says, “I’ve got a bomb.” What ensues is an edge-of-your-seat narrative that reminds us of the social responsibility we have to our soldiers, our colleagues, our families as well as to strangers.
Corbin penned 892 with Kwame Kwei-Armah, who serves as artistic director for the Young Vic in London.
Salman Al-Rashid and Sam Frohman produced the film for Salmira Productions with Ashley Levinson and Kevin Turen of Little Lamb Productions and Mackenzie Fargo of Epic.
Boyega executive produced.
“We put our hearts and souls into the honest telling of Brian’s story,” said Corbin, “and it is a joy to partner with the team at Bleecker Street, knowing they are committed to do the same.”
“Abi’s depiction of Brian’s story is an absolutely essential film that we feel deserves the widest possible audience in theaters. It thrillingly delivers an important message and features an incredible performance from John Boyega in addition to the rest of the cast,” added Bleecker Street’s co-founder and CEO Andrew Karpen. “We look forward to sharing this with audiences across the country.”
Bleecker Street is planning a late-summer release in theaters nationwide.