CM 2021

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Dreyana Grooms

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Goals at CineMart To find partners in diverse markets where the American Black Lives Matter movement has struck a chord. We want to legitimise the project as international and increase visibility and distribution opportunities worldwide. Other goals include attaching a European sales agent and seeking out soft money possibilities for post and other financing.Synopsis Set on Chicago&rsquo;s Low End, a near-South Side area which earned its nickname during the &lsquo;50s and &lsquo;60s low-income and public housing boom, the film tells the true story of how a violent event turned Dreyana &ldquo;Dre&rdquo; Grooms&rsquo; teen life - and the lives of those close to her - upside down.In a rugged urban environment where acts of brutality are all too common, loyalty is more than a virtue; it spells survival for Dre and members of her close-knit gang. We first meet Dre on the fateful day of her 16th birthday, before she has sparked a series of events that will land her first-degree and attempted murder charges.What starts as a fun summer night out with Dre and her friends becomes threatening in an armed confrontation with a group of opposing gang members. The altercation ends when Dre&rsquo;s friend Sonny shoots and kills one of the rivals.A day later, Dre and another member of her crew, Kenneth, both of whom were witnesses to the shooting, are picked up on suspicion of the murder based on false testimony given to police by one of the victim&rsquo;s friends. Honouring the code of the streets, Dre and her co-defendant decide not to snitch on Sonny, and, maintaining their innocence, spend the next three years locked up awaiting trial. While Dre&rsquo;s challenges are the main focal point, the film also charts the effect that one young woman&rsquo;s struggle has on the lives of her family and community; for example, we see Dre&rsquo;s mother Penny struggling to maintain her sanity as she deals this new reality, and we also witness her friends&rsquo; shifting loyalties in the face of criminal justice.Director&rsquo;s Biography A Brazilian-born, Chicago-based filmmaker known for his feature films Porto (2016) and Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater (2013), he is the recipient of more than a dozen international awards and honours, including a Golden Lion at the 2013 Venice Film Festival for the Best Documentary on Cinema. Klinger&rsquo;s films have been shown at hundreds of major festivals worldwide such as SXSW, IFFR, BFI London, San Sebasti&aacute;n International Film Festival, Viennale, FIDMarseille, BAFICI, and CPH:DOX. Porto, which is executive produced by Jim Jarmusch and stars Anton Yelchin, was acquired for theatrical distribution in over forty markets.

CogniCine

16-year-old Dreyana Grooms' summer break is interrupted when she's implicated in a deadly crime. This event radically alters the course of her entire young adult life.