'Monsters and Men' takes home U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award at Sundance

Congratulations to Reinaldo Marcus Green in being awarded the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature was presented for his film "Monsters and Men" at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Green’s rising trajectory is noted, from being selected earlier for both the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and 2015 Tribeca Film Festival for his short, “Stop” and now having his feature film directorial debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for “Monsters and Men.” Reinaldo Green’s success is marks an important step for the media landscape in terms of seeing the rise of more inclusive filmmaking. In his film not only being programmed but also acquired from an Afro Latino director, (Green is half Puerto Rican and half African American), signals the need for talented directors that are able to tell these diverse stories.

Monsters and Men / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Reinaldo Marcus Green, Producers: Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Josh Penn, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Luca Borghese) — This interwoven narrative explores the aftermath of a police killing of a black man. The film is told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand. Cast: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chanté Adams, Nicole Beharie, Rob Morgan.

Neon Takes Domestic Rights to Police Brutality Drama ‘Monsters and Men’

                                                                           Image courtesy by The Wrap 

Neon has picked up Monsters and Men from director Reinaldo Marcus Green. 

For Green, being able to write from his own experiences and tell his story through filmmaking gave him an opportunity to tackle a controversial issue in a way that sparks conversation on both ends. Offering differing perspectives on an incident involving the police and a young man of color, the film, comes from a point of individuals trying to understand each other’s views. “I was having a conversation with a cop friend and we were talking about the Eric Garner case. We just saw two different things on that tape. I saw a man that should be alive and he saw something different. He just thought it was unfortunate that the guy was dead but that he was resisting arrest.”

The deal was negotiated by the company and Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers. Terms were not disclosed.

The plot interweaves the story of what happens in the aftermath of a police shooting in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, a black police officer and a high school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand, showing the impact of racism and violence on a community.

The cast includes John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chanté Adams, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Nicole Beharie, Rob Morgan and Cara Buono.

Elizabeth Lodge Stepp and Josh Penn of The Department of Motion Pictures, Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev and Luca Borghese produced. Executive producers are Sight Unseen’s Leonid Lebedev and Oren Moverman, Chiara Bernasconi, Charles Miller and The Department of Motion Pictures’ Noah Stahl. Read more at Deadline.