LUV

Director: Sheldon Candis
Screenwriters: Sheldon Candis, Justin Wilson

Institute History

Description

Woody, an adorable 11-year-old boy awaiting the return of his missing mother, lives with his grandmother and Uncle Vincent, who is fresh off an eight-year prison stint. For Woody, the confident, charismatic Vincent is a titan among men. When Vincent notices that Woody could learn a thing or two about becoming a man, he brings him along as he ventures forth to open his own business. But when legit life fails to support Vincent’s vision, and his old Baltimore crime boss, Mr. Fish, haunts him, the pace of little Woody’s manhood lesson accelerates.

Beautiful, bold, and confident, Sheldon Candis’s auspicious debut feature transforms the standard gangster film into a warm and radiant coming-of-age story that humanizes complex situations through characters motivated by love, rather than pride. Brought to life by a brilliant cast, including Danny Glover, Charles Dutton, and Meagan Good, LUV is a lion-hearted tale about virtue as it shines through a complicated slice of black male life in Baltimore.

— Shari Frilot

Screening Details

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]