Lanre Olabisi’s dark comedy, A Storybook Ending, focuses on a black man who accidentally kills a white cop in self-defense. This topical short which has already screened at the San Francisco Black Film Festival, the San Antonio Film Festival, and the Woods Hole Film Festival also screened at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) in August.
Synopsis: When a black man accidentally kills a white cop in self-defense, the cover-up sets off a chain reaction of deceit, blackmail, and murder.
Director Lanre Olabisi has written and directed two feature films, August the First and Somewhere in the Middle. Lanre’s films have screened at over 75 film festivals including SXSW and Karlovy Vary. His work has won top prizes in ten international film festivals and has also been nominated for an IFP Gotham Award as well as a Black Reel Award. Olabisi’s latest short film A Storybook Ending is a neo-noir, dark comedy about a black man who accidentally kills a white cop in self-defense. The short is based on Lanre’s feature film of the same name which is currently in development.
The Official Trailer for A Storybook Ending Written and Directed by Lanre Olabisi
Producer Ross Vedder’s work has garnered numerous accolades including nominations at the Golden Trailers and the Clio Design Awards. He has produced and collaborated on a wide array of independent film projects, with the film’s screening at numerous film festivals including SXSW and the Atlanta Film Festival. Ross is currently developing his next comedic short about a young couple whose toxic relationship accidentally creates an inter-dimensional black hole in their living room, a story based on true events.
Producer Tiffany Smile worked as a creative consultant on the feature film Somewhere in the Middle and produced the short film A Storybook Ending. She is currently writing a pilot entitled My White Friend about a young Black couple living in Brooklyn who are struggling with infertility.
Cinematographer Piero Basso has photographed 14 features and television series as well as numerous short films and documentaries that have screened and received awards at festivals including Venice, Cannes, Locarno, and Berlin. Some of his work has also received nominations at the European Film Awards and also for the David di Donatello Award.
The cast are Rotimi Paul (The First Purge), Carra Patterson (Straight Outta Compton), Sawandi Wilson (Isn’t It Romantic), and Toni Ann DeNoble (Manifest)
The crew includes Director, Producer & Writer Lanre Olabisi; Producer Tiffany Smile-Olabisi, Ross Vedder; Associate Producer Busola Aibana; Co-producer & Line Producer Nicky Arezu Akmal; Consulting Producer Dorottya Mathe, Ron Simons; Director of Photography Piero Basso; Special Effects Brian Schuley, Casting Director Lois Drabkin, Sound Ben Chesneau, Eli Cohn, Maya Peart, Jack Sasner; Production Design Luis Marciliano; Editor Alex Kopit; Assistant Editor Chris Kenny, Pierce Varous; Colourist Joseph Mastantuono.
A Storybook Ending was adapted from a feature film screenplay of the same name. The idea was born out of an incident that happened to James Blake, a retired Black tennis star, in 2015. He was standing in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City waiting for a car to take him to the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. All of a sudden, and for no apparent reason, a plainclothes police officer tackled Mr. Blake to the ground without ever announcing himself. The officer later claimed that he “fit the description.”
I’m 6’2, 240lbs. I wrestled at the University of Michigan. I’m a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I know how to defend myself. This incident actually scared me because I have always been acutely aware that at some point in my life I might just “fit the description.” This encounter led me to ask a cascade of questions that all started with: what if?
What if that happened to me? What if I fought back? What if I hurt the officer? What if I ran away in a panic? Fortunately, I never had to make this choice, but the main character in this film, Wale, does.
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