Growing Up in 1990s Chicago in Minhal Baig’s ‘We Grown Now’ Trailer
by Alex Billington
January 31, 2024
Source: YouTube
“Don’t be afraid to fly.” Sony Pictures Classics has revealed the main official trailer for an acclaimed film titled We Grown Now, set in Chicago in the 1990s. This is the third feature film created and directed by filmmaker Minhal Baig, best known for her Sundance gem Hala from 2019. We Grown Now premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival last year, and it also stopped by AFI Fest in the fall. Two young boys, best friends Malik and Eric, discover the joys and hardships of growing up in the sprawling Cabrini-Green public housing complex in 1992 Chicago. Starring Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday, and Ora Jones, along with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett. This received rave reviews from TIFF, with critics saying it’s a “unassuming character study set to poetic rhythms makes for an empathetic study of Black life, full of resolve.” Watch out for this one – it looks very very, good.
Here’s the main official trailer (+ poster) for Minhal Baig’s We Grown Now, direct from SPC’s YouTube:
In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly. We Grown Now is written and directed by American filmmaker Minhal Baig, director of the films 1 Night and We Grown Now previously, as well as a few more short films and writing work. Produced by Minhal Baig and Joe Pirro. This initially premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival last year. Sony Pictures Classics will debut Baig’s We Grown Now in select US theaters starting April 19th, 2024 this spring. Who’s interested in watching?