Georgia Native And Actress Danielle Brooks Stars In New Movie, “If I Go Will They Miss Me”, Which Hits Theaters Today: Movie Also Stars J. Alphonse Nicholson, Bodhi Dell, And Rapper Bre-Z

Filmmaker Walter Thompson-Hernández’s highly anticipated lyrical drama, If I Go Will They Miss Me, opens in theaters nationwide today, September 18.

The film, which serves as a feature-length adaptation of Thompson-Hernández’s 2022 Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning short, arrives in wide release following months of festival buzz and critical acclaim for its striking visual language and empathetic storytelling.

Set against the backdrop of the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, the narrative centers on Lil Ant (played by newcomer Bodhi Dell), a 12-year-old boy navigating the complexities of his father’s recent incarceration. To cope with his changing reality, Lil Ant filters his world through a blend of surrealism, flights of imagination, and Greek mythology. Academy Award-nominee Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson deliver powerful, grounded performances as Lil Ant’s parents.

The project roots its emotional core in a surreal real-world incident from Thompson-Hernández’s childhood, where an airplane dropped jet fuel over local elementary schools. Critics are calling the feature expansion a “visual poem,” praising its deliberate pacing and its dreamlike exploration of Black fatherhood, family bonds, and childhood imagination.

Danielle Brooks is an Augusta-born, South Carolina-raised actress best known for her long run as Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black.

Nicholson is best known for roles in the Netflix miniseries, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker, and the Starz drama P-Valley.

Bodhi Dell is an emerging child actor who previously appeared in several films and on the hit sitcom Abbott Elementary.

Calesha Murray, known professionally as rapper Bre-Z, also co-stars in the film. She is best known for her roles as Tamia “Coop” Cooper in the American drama series All American and as Freda Gatz in Empire.