Philadelphia filmmakers Atif Lanier and Mike A. Pender are at it again, this time with their feature film: Swing.
Storyline- Trip, is an aspiring musician with one foot in the streets and the other in his music. A lifetime of poor decisions has placed him between the police and a mysterious gangster named Mississippi Black in 1945 Philadelphia. He soon finds things are not always what they seem.
Swing was originally a stage-play written by, directed by and starring Atif Lanier. It gained popularity and momentum as it toured colleges along the East Coast. Due to it’s social relevance and plot twist, audiences would remark “that would make a great film.”
Lanier and Pender got in the writer’s room and wrote a screenplay version of Swing. In addition, they reached out to the Philadelphia area actors who starred in the play. Actors such as Nakia Dillard, Keith Bullard and Walter DeShields. To add fuel to a growing fire local legends such as Brian A. Wilson, Jacinth Headlam, Dwayne Thomas and Donovan Hagins joined the cast. Along with Lanier this proved to be a star studded cast, as all the cast has extensive TV and Film Credits.
With Mike A. Pender as the director, Swing went on a successful film festival run, picking up awards in Europe, South America, The Caribbean and North America. Lanier and Pender were Executive Producers, while Nakia Dillard, Keith Bullard and Jacobi Simmons were Associate Producers. The team worked well together as everyone brought something to the table.
Swing is now available on Amazon Prime with more streaming platforms to be added during 2024.
Follow Swing on Social Media on Instgran @swingthemovie and of Facebook at If It Ain’t Got That Swing The Movie