Akili McDowell

Miami, Florida – Rising star Akili McDowell (“David Makes Man”) takes the lead as Grayson Goodman, haunted by tragic death of his best friend, grappling with innocence and vengeance in acclaimed director Samuel Ladouceur’s (A Great Day in Harlem, The Sweetest Girl) hard-hitting coming-of-age film, “Stay With Me.” Production will begin July 26th in Miami, Florida, for a late summer and fall 2024 film festival run. Join our campaign link in bio McDowell will play Grayson Goodman shattered by the murder of his best friend. Torn between grief and a burning desire for justice, he embarks on a quest that uncovers dark secrets threatening to tear his community apart. Set against the backdrop of Port-au-Prince’s unforgiving streets, “Stay With Me” explores themes of family, faith, and the unwavering bond between a mother and son in the face of unimaginable loss. “Stay With Me” is created, written and produced by Yanatha Desouvre, using familiar characters from his novel “Revelations: Roads to Redemption” the second of the Goodman Chronicles book series, which has been described as “James Bond meets Idris Elba’s Luther mixed with Mission Impossible, X-Men and a dash of Haitian hot sauce.” Ladouceur has an extension portfolio, including work on “Person of Interest,” “Unstoppable,” “Power” and “Boardwalk Empire.” In 2018 he directed and produced the short films, “A Great Day in Harlem,” and “The Sweetest Girl,” Executive Produced and co-written by Harry Jeudy, which has won numerous awards and has garnered critical acclaim. Ladouceur is the founder of LA PhiLA Productions and the vice president of Backdoor Entertainment, LLC McDowell stars in the Peabody Award-winning series ‘David Makes Man’ from Oprah Winfrey, Michael B Jordan, a drama from Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”) and in the critically acclaimed series Billions. Recently McDowell was the lead in the award winning (Best Director Coke Daniels) “The Waterboyz” the film also saw its world premiere at the 28th American Black Film Festival in Miami Beach. His publicist is @jonellprbrand Whitt of Jonell PR Brand. #monday #mondaymotivation #blacklead #staywithme #movie #miami

#waterboyz 2023 #thewaterboyzmovie #akilimcdowell #davidmakesman #viral ❤️🔥🔥

Excited and grateful to be working with everyone on this project. Clifton Powell a legend #CityOfHeat coming soon 🔥🔥 Thank you @directorantwansmith @j.lynch4 @sambrave @benmarcshotthistoo @tcidel05 @_xavierparis @itscliftonpowell #explore #fyp #props

I be goin hard everyday I can’t lose #fyp #explore

Blessed to be 23 #fyp #explore

Blessed and Thankful Y’all go get that @moneyhuntusa 🦈🔥🔥

Grayson, haunted by the recent shooting death of his friend, worries about his mother’s safety Stay With Me stars @akilimcdowell of @owntv @davidmakesman executive produced by @michaelbjordan @oprah exploring universal and transcendent themes of love, hope and community. In gritty modern-day Haiti, a fiercely protective investigative journalist, and her thoughtful teenage son are haunted by a friend’s death, find their lives on the line when her hard-hitting exposés make their family a target. Stay With Me explores themes of family, faith, community, and for standing up for what’s right in the face of danger. The short explores impact of violence and the importance of journalism in speaking truth to power, along with a strong undercurrent of a mother’s fierce love and protection of her son. Join our campaign and earn a perk or two Link in bio #tgif #friday #black #family #film #indie #movies #haitian directed by @reelsam

Mx. Elijah said it’s a high water emergency. 😂 David Makes Man is now streaming on @streamonmax . #FeelYourPride #Pride2024

❤️🔥it was rough but I made it happen waterboyz @americanblackfilmfestival thank you

Waterboyz sold out!! WATERBOYZ coming soon.. “WATERBOYZ WIN” Thank you for the article @variety @americanblackfilmfestival thank you For the Official World premiere again. Official release coming soon. Thank you again to everyone who contributed to the film. Thank you to everyone who came out. I enjoyed the film and I had a good time attending the festival. I’m ready to work again #waterboyz #akilimcdowell #actor #abff #own #dmm #abffcommunity Day #whatsnext

Thank you @americanblackfilmfestival for sceening the waterboyz movie. It was good !! If you haven’t watched it Come watch it Sunday it’s free @americanblackfilmfestival #akilimcdowell #waterboyz #actor Official release coming soon Miami wassgood