Up With Me
Written, Directed and Produced by Greg Takoudes
Synopses
When Francisco, a teenager from Harlem, is admitted to an upstate boarding school on scholarship, he is torn between his life at home and the new environment. But as Francisco tries to leave his troubles in Harlem behind, his best friend puts his own life in danger as a loyalty test to Francisco. To save his friend, Francisco is forced to become the one thing in boarding school that he resisted becoming in Harlem: a drug dealer.
Up With Me was created as a collaboration between Greg and non-professional teenagers from Harlem. The screenplay is based on months-long writing workshops with the teenagers, who then starred in the movie.