During the 2018 BET Awards, viewers were treated to the first exclusive trailer for one of this year’s most celebrated and talked about new films, The Hate U Give.
The book-to-film adaptation of Angie Thomas’ bestselling young adult novel of the same name hits the big screen on October 19. Featuring a star-studded ensemble, which includes Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Common, Issa Rae, Anthony Mackie and Algee Smith, the film is partly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The story involves a 16-year-old girl girl, Starr (portrayed by Amandla Stenberg), who attends a private school and witnesses her best friend, Khalil, get murdered by the police—even though he was unarmed. Starr is the only one who can shed light on what happened that fatal night and everyone in the community wants answers. Facing an immense pressure from all sides of the community, Starr is tasked with finding her voice and standing up for what’s right.
You can watch the trailer in full below:
Directed by George Tillman, Jr., the film arrives in theaters on October 19.