New York-based outfit Grasshopper Film has acquired North American rights to Ephraim Asili’s debut feature, “The Inheritance,” following its premiere at Toronto and screening at the New York Film Festival.
Grasshopper Film is planning to have “The Inheritance” open on March 12 in New York at Film at Lincoln Center, as well as in other cities.
The ensemble film takes place almost entirely in a West Philadelphia house, where a community of young people come together to form a collective of Black artists and activists. Shot in 16 mm, the movie interweaves a scripted drama with a documentary recollection of the Philadelphia liberation group MOVE, which was the victim of a notorious police bombing in 1985.
A Pennsylvania-born filmmaker, Asili has been exploring different facets of the African diaspora for nearly a decade and “The Inheritance” is based on his own experiences in a Black liberationist group.
The film references legacies of the Black Arts Movement, and features Black authors and radicals, members of MOVE, and poets Ursula Rucker and Sonia Sanchez.
“The Inheritance” stars Nozipho McClean, Eric Lockley, Chris Jarell and Julian Rozzell Jr. It is produced by Asili and Victoria Brooks.
In addition to his filmmaking career, Asili is also a DJ and has been a regular program host on WGXC. He also emcees a monthly dance party, Botanica, and is a professor in the film and electronic arts department at Bard College.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey, president and founder of Grasshopper Film, with Asili.
Grasshopper Film’s recent acquisitions include Venice prize-winning sci-fi drama “Atlantis,” Camilo Restrepo’s Berlinale award-winning “Los Conductos,” Tsai Ming-Liang’s “Days,” and Paul Felten and Joe DeNardo’s “Slow Machine.”