Rich Spirit will release “If I Go Will They Miss Me” in theaters across 30-plus markets nationwide on Sept. 18, following a special Sept. 11 Los Angeles engagement.
The film follows 12-year-old Lil Ant navigating his relationship with his father in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood. Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”) and J. Alphonse Nicholson (“P-Valley”) star alongside newcomer Bodhi Dell. Grammy and Academy Award winner Jon Batiste serves as executive producer and recorded a cover of Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth” for the project.
The Walter Thompson-Hernandez feature made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year; 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.
“’If I Go Will They Miss Me’ was such a labor of love from start to finish,” the writer-director said. “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.”
Rich Spirit acquired the coming-of-age project following its world premiere. The company previously released biopic “The Apprentice” and “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions.”
“Walter Thompson-Hernandez has created a work of extraordinary beauty that expands what’s possible in contemporary independent cinema,” James Shani, founder and CEO of Rich Spirit, said in a statement. “Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson deliver some of the finest work of their careers, alongside a stunning screen debut from Bodhi Dell. We’re honored to bring this remarkable film to audiences nationwide and introduce one of the most exciting new voices in American cinema.”
The film screened at 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.
Josh Peters, Saba Zerehi and Ben Stillman produced. Executive producers include Robina Riccitiello, Steve Beckman, Isaac Ericson, Jennifer J. Pritzker, Sako Fisher, Meredith Crowley, Jonathan Weiner, Grace Lay, Tyler Bagley, Jack Chinery, Batiste, Ryan Lynn, Steven Prinz, Lauren Lopez de Victoria, Rachel Jacobs, Brooks and Nicholson.
TheWrap’s Chase Hutchinson reviewed the project out of Sundance, describing it as “flooring and formidable” and “a vibrant vision of a family trying to find their way through the world.”
