Rich Spirit will release If I Go Will They Miss Me in theaters across 30-plus markets nationwide on September 18, following a special Los Angeles engagement on September 11.
The coming-of-age drama, written and directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, is set in the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles and follows 12-year-old Lil Ant, played by newcomer Bodhi Jordan Dell, as he navigates his relationship with his father Big Ant after he returns home from prison. As their bond strains under unspoken emotions and shifting expectations, Lil Ant begins experiencing mysterious visions of boys drifting through his neighborhood, visions that slowly reveal deeper emotional and generational ties between fathers and sons. The film blends magical realism with grounded family drama and subtle nods to Greek mythology.
Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson star alongside Dell, with Brooks and Nicholson also serving as executive producers. Grammy and Academy Award winner Jon Batiste also executive produces and recorded a cover of Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth” for the project.
The film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and went on to screen at the Miami International Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival, where it received an Honorable Mention for the New Directors Award. The Sundance Institute previously supported Thompson-Hernandez’s short film of the same name, which premiered and won an award at the festival in 2022.
“I’ll never forget watching it on the big screen when we premiered at Sundance, and I can’t wait for audiences nationwide to also experience the film in theaters,” Thompson-Hernandez said.
Rich Spirit, which previously released The Apprentice and BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, acquired the project following its Sundance premiere. “Walter Thompson-Hernandez has created a work of extraordinary beauty that expands what’s possible in contemporary independent cinema,” said James Shani, founder and CEO of Rich Spirit. “Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson deliver some of the finest work of their careers, alongside a stunning screen debut from Bodhi Dell.”
If I Go Will They Miss Me opens in Los Angeles on September 11 and nationwide on September 18.