Boris Kodjoe is making his directorial debut with lifetime’s thriller Safe Space. Boris will also star alongside his wife, Nicole Air Parker, Drea de Matteo, Nik Sanchez, Mackenzie Astin, Monica Calhoun, and Julito McCullum.
Nneka Gerstle penned Safe Space that centers on recently widowed Lila Jackson (Ari Parker) and her 14-year-old, autistic son Ian (Sanchez). Since the death of her husband, Lila is grateful for their kind neighbor Neil Hargrove (Kodjoe), who looks out for them.
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After Ian accidentally witnesses a break-in in the house across the street and records the horrific murder of the homeowner, Lila becomes embroiled in a deadly struggle to protect her son from intruders Dominic (Astin) and Rocco (De Matteo), who will stop at nothing to retrieve the video evidence of the crime and silence them. Hiding and trapped in a makeshift panic room created by her late husband, Lila and Ian must use all of their strength and intelligence to outsmart the intruders to save themselves.
Calhoun will portray Officer Armani and McCullum is cast as a repairman.
Lifetime has worked with the organization RespectAbility in review of the script to ensure as much authenticity as possible in the portrayal of Ian. The role of Ian is played by Nik Sanchez who is on the autism spectrum. As part of Lifetime’s advocacy efforts, resources to learn more about autism will be provided at the end of the film.
Dominique Telson and Karen Kaufman Wilson will executive the project and Astute Films is producing the film for Lifetime.
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Production for Safe Space is currently underway. The film has will premiere sometime in 2022.
Ari Parker is currently recurring in NBC’s Chicago P.D. and is in production for the NBC pilot At That Age. Kodjoe is currently a series regular on the ABC series Station 19.