THE LAST TREE from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

THE LAST TREE opens in Virtual Cinemas everywhere on June 26, 2020!

Award-winning British/Nigerian drama THE LAST TREE opens in NY at BAM, in LA at Laemmle Theaters and other cities nationwide on June 26, 2020.

ArtMattan Films, the film distribution arm of ArtMattan Productions, has maintained its BAM pre-COVID19 release date of June 26 to launch the virtual theatrical release of The Last Tree by Shola Amoo, “The work of a natural born filmmaker” (Nigel Andrews, Financial Times).

The Last Tree scooped two wins for Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Award.   Its Sundance 2019 World Premiere screening was followed by multiple festival screenings in the USA and Canada. The film’s June 26 Virtual Theatrical run will be followed by a digital and home-video release.

“An elliptical look at hard changes in a young man's life” (John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter), THE LAST TREE is the semi-autobiographical story of Femi (as a child played by newcomer Tai Golding), a British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after being fostered in rural Lincolnshire, moves to inner-city London to live with his birth mother. In his teens, Femi (Sam Adewunmi) is struggling with the culture and values of his new environment. Femi must decide which path to adulthood he wants to take, and what it means to be a young black man in London during the early 00s. Going back home to Nigeria with his mum to find his Nigerian roots will help adolescent Femi find grounding and hope for a better future.

With The Last Tree “Amoo presents a far more sensitive representation of the black British experience than is often seen on screen, challenging his audience to confront their own prejudices along the way." ~ Nikki Baughan, The List

“Powerful performances, tactile visuals and an elegantly fluid score add to the impact of this impressively understated yet profoundly moving tale.” ~ Mark Kermode, Observer (UK)

Particularly impressive is the performance of BIFA winner Sam Adewunmi, who plays Femi as a young man.

 “Newcomer Sam Adewunmi captures Femi's anger but also his loneliness - a desperate longing to forge his own path, but also to fit in with his family and friends.” ~ Hannah Woodhead, Little White Lies

“We can count on Adewunmi to reveal Femi's inner turmoil. It's a raw, emotionally resonant performance.” ~ Amon Warmann, CineVue

The Last Tree is Shola Amoo second feature length film after A Moving Image (2017). “As with his debut feature 'A Moving Image', a spikily insightful look at gentrification in Brixton, Amoo is always looking to subvert lazy cultural assumptions.” ~ Philip De Semlyen, Time Out

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND SCREENERS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Diarah N’Daw-Spech, ArtMattan Films - Tel (212) 864-1760, e-mail: Info@africanfilm.com

ABOUT ARTMATTAN FILMS
ArtMattan Films celebrates in 2020 twenty eight years of exposing US audiences to a large variety of films about the human experience of people of color in many parts of the world. Films released by ArtMattan Films include Kirikou and the Sorceress, The Tracker, Gospel Hill, Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, The Pirogue, Tango Negro: The African Roots of Tango, White Lies, The Man Who Mends Women and most recently The Citizen and Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba 
More info at www.AfricanFilm.com