Historically, the Sundance Film Festival has always loved a good coming-of-age story. That was certainly true once again in 2016, when this year’s fest fell hard for Morris From America, the story of a young teen (Markees Christmas) with dreams of hip-hop stardom who moves to Germany with his single father (The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine’s Craig Robinson). The film won two awards at Sundance 2016, one for screenwriting plus a Special Jury Prize for Robinson in an unusual dramatic role, and got great reviews from critics and audiences. It was eventually acquired by A24, who will bring the film to theaters in the U.S. later this summer.

Here’s the official plot synopsis from A24:

Morris From America centers on Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas, in an incredible breakout performance), a 13-year-old who has just relocated with his single father, Curtis (Robinson) to Heidelberg, Germany. Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water—a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his cool, rebellious, 15-year-old classmate Katrin (Lina Keller). Morris sets out against all odds to take the hip-hop world by storm and win the girl of his dreams.

Colleagues told me this movie was terrific, and the trailer doesn’t do anything to convince me they were incorrect. Robinson looks great, and Christmas could be a breakout star as well. Here’s the film’s new poster:

Morris From America
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Morris From America opens in theaters on August 19.

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