Music Box Films unveiled the trailer for the family drama film ‘Mountains’, the feature film directorial debut from director Monica Sorelle. Set in Little Haiti, Miami, the film tells the story of a struggling immigrant family as they face the reality of ‘American dream’.
Starring the independent film are Atibon Nazaire, Sheila Anozier, Chris Renois, Serafin Falcon, Roscoè B. Thické III, Yaniel Castillo, and Bechir Sylvain.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, and was screened at several film festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, AFI Fest, and BlackStar Film Festival.
Release Date
Directed by Monica Sorelle, ‘Mountains’ opens in select US theaters on August 16, 2024.
Synopsis
In Miami’s Little Haiti, Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) makes a living as a demolition worker while his wife Esperance (Sheila Anozier) holds down two jobs to sustain their cozy household. Their routine is tested when their son Junior (Chris Renois) returns home after dropping out of college. Xavier and Esperance struggle to relate with Junior, who is no longer interested in speaking Creole with them and harbors ambitions of an artistic career path they do not understand. Xavier aspires to buy a more spacious house for his family, but still wakes up every morning, goes to work, and dismantles his neighborhood brick by brick. Yet even as construction vehicles rumble down the block, Little Haiti remains a vibrant community with traditions and rhythms distinctly its own. Monica Sorelle’s tender feature debut is a multigenerational drama that deftly explores the relationships between immigrants and their children, the looming threat of gentrification, and the pursuit of the American dream.
“I think about gentrification daily. As I swerve through construction in Little Haiti, I wonder what kind of person will be able to afford a unit in the condos that will inevitably take the place of the neighborhood where I was raised… This film explores Miami’s racial dynamics, its never-ending development and redevelopment, and the sisyphean effort to survive and establish oneself in a system that never seems to keep us in mind. Additionally, Mountains explores the intergenerational divide between immigrant parents and their children, and the dichotomy between sacrifice and expectation.” says director Monica Sorelle about the film.
Reviews
Dan Bayer in a Next Best Picture review gave the film a score of 8/10, writing “With this irresistible central trio of performances and Sorelle’s assured control over the storytelling, “Mountains” (named after a Haitian proverb about the eternal struggles of life) will make a massive impact on all who see it.”
Lovia Gyarkye in a Hollywood Reporter review praised Sorelle’s portrayal of gentrification in the film, writing “The director portrays it as a slow creep, showing that the process not only changes the physicality of a neighborhood — with its constant trading of the old for the new — but also affects its sonic and emotional landscapes.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for ‘Mountains’.