“SUMMERTIME”

directed by
Carlos López Estrada

“In the heat of the summer, the lives of 25 strangers collide. A love letter to Los Angeles written and performed by a collective of young spoken word poets.”

premiering AT 2020 sundance film festival

Over the course of a hot summer day in Los Angeles, the lives of 25 young Angelinos intersect. A skating guitarist, a tagger, two wannabe rappers, an exasperated fast-food worker, a limo driver—they all weave in and out of each other’s stories. Through poetry they express life, love, heartache, family, home, and fear. One of them just wants to find someplace that still serves good cheeseburgers. Inspired by a spoken-word showcase featuring 25 diverse high school performers, Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting) proposed a collaboration to develop the performers’ work into a loose, interconnected narrative, allowing the non-actors to express themselves and their relationship to the city. With its Slacker-inspired structure, fanciful form, and exuberant magical realism, Summertime is a free-verse poem—of the kids, by the kids, for the kids. The young poets radiate vitality, honesty, and profound emotion. By the time they wind up together in a tricked-out mega-limo overlooking the city, we believe in what their crazy, creative togetherness represents: hope. As the driver says, “Y’all got a pocket full of dreams, so don’t let me down.”

Director Carlos López Estrada
Screenwriters Dave Harris 27 Get Lit Poets
Produced By Kimberly Stuckwisch Jeffrey Soros Alisa Tager Simon Horsman Diane Luby Lane
Principal Cast 25 Get Lit Poets
Written By And Starring Tyris Winter Marquesha Babers Maia Mayor Austin Antoine Bryce Banks Amaya Blankenship Bene't Benton Raul Herrera Mila Cuda Gordon Ip Jason Alvarez Hanna Harris Anna Osuna Walter Finnie Olympia Miccio Paolina Acuña-González Madyson Park Xochitl Morales Zach Perlmutter

“word.”

directed by
Jordan Barrow