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Dayveon

Forum 2017
“Don’t tell Kim” is key to understanding Dayveon’s inner conflict. His older sister isn’t supposed to find out about the dodgy goings-on the thirteen-year-old has got himself caught up in; he only confides in her boyfriend, Bryan. Bryan has offered himself to Dayveon as a kind of substitute for his brother, whose death was linked to his gang membership. And now Dayveon and his best friend Brayden have themselves joined the Bloods.
Amman Abbasi has worked as a documentary filmmaker, as the coordinator of the Little Rock Film Festival and as an assistant to David Gordon Green; with his brother Yousuf, he’s also had success as a musician and composer. Dayveon is the feature debut of this multitalented 28-year-old; he wrote the screenplay, acted as editor and producer and also composed the music. Filmed in classic Academy format, the film combines sun-drenched images of the American South, eerie night scenes, suggestive nature shots (a swarm of bees is a recurring motif) and the family’s cramped home into a dense portrait of a life on the periphery, constantly teetering between tenderness and brutality, poetry and realism.
by Amman Abbasi
with Devin Blackmon, Kordell "KD" Johnson, Dontrell Bright, Chasity Moore, Lachion Buckingham, Marquell Manning USA 2017 English 75’ Colour

With

  • Devin Blackmon (Dayveon)
  • Kordell "KD" Johnson (Brayden)
  • Dontrell Bright (Bryan)
  • Chasity Moore (Kim)
  • Lachion Buckingham (Mook)
  • Marquell Manning (Country)

Crew

Director Amman Abbasi
Screenplay Amman Abbasi, Steven Reneau
Cinematography Dustin Lane
Editing Michael Carter, Dominic LaPerriere
Music Amman Abbasi
Producers Amman Abbasi, Alexander Uhlmann, Lachion Buckingham

Produced by

Cximple

Rough House Pictures

Muskat Filmed Properties

Symbolic Exchange

Salem Street Entertainment

Mama Bear

World Sales

Visit Films

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Photos

Berlinale Meets | Interview

Amman Abbasi

Born as the son of immigrants from Pakistan. He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He has worked as a director’s assistant for filmmakers such as David Gordon Green, and he now works as an editor and composer. In 2008, he and his brother released their debut album, Something Like Nostalgia.

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2017