Sincerely, Los Angeles, a colorful, intimate, and inspiring love letter from Los Angeles to NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant, will be produced by a new joint venture between premier production company Falkon Entertainment and Ebony Studios. The feature-length documentary, directed by Patrick Green and produced by Dexton Deboree and Wondwossen Dikran of Falkon in collaboration with Someone Great Pictures, tells heartfelt stories about everyday people affected by the tragic death of the Lakers legend, as well as a look at LA’s most inspiring mural artists and cultural figures helping each other cope with the loss and remembering Kobe and Gianna. The video follows how these homage shrines grew into a global movement that started in Los Angeles and now spans the globe, demonstrating that Kobe’s impact will live on in our hearts and city walls forever.
“The impact of Kobe’s passing can never be fully articulated or properly emphasized, because it is such a deep, complex, profound and highly personal emotional experience for so many people around the world and if you’re an Angeleno, it goes deeper than that. Even though he was a stranger to me, in many ways I had suffered that loss, just the same and I know so many others around the world felt their own version of the same thing,” says Dexton Deboree, CEO of Falkon and visionary behind Ja Morant’s PROMISELAND, Will Smith’s Best Shape of My Life and Shaquille O’Neil’s The Game Plan. “I’m grateful, honored and inspired to help Patrick and his team bring the film further to life, support his vision and collaborate closely with our partners at Ebony to pay homage and do proper justice to the lasting legacy that Kobe and Gigi had on us all, through the unique and beautiful art that has been created in their loving, dedicated and more than fond memories.”
The film, which is set in Covid-19 and depicts people’s fear of the future, the loss of a real-life superhero, and racial turmoil in the streets, is very much a time capsule of 2020. During the city’s lockdown, award-winning filmmaker Patrick Green traveled throughout the city, documenting how a diverse group of artists and citizens from Boyle Heights to Burbank, Watts to the Westside, separated by class, culture, and concrete, have taken it upon themselves to keep Kobe and Gigi’s legacy alive by painting their images on walls across the Southland. It’s something they must do for the sake of themselves and the city.
“For a lot of Angelenos like myself, Kobe’s passing was like losing a North Star and since then, we’ve all experienced the loss of loved ones, freedom, and a sense of purpose. As I navigated my way through this new normal, I kept seeing larger than life Kobe murals pop-up around LA and saw that they became a place of refuge for people to gather around and relive memories with friends, family, and complete strangers” says Patrick Green, Award-winning Director. “I felt empowered to make a film that captured Kobe’s spirit just like the muralists had done and as I filmed these stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things for themselves and their community, I began to realize that these past couple years weren’t just about loss but finding the hero within. Who better than the Black Mamba to force us to put on our big boy pants and start living again? As a POC filmmaker, it’s an honor and privilege to partner with Dexton and Falkon and have ‘Sincerely, Los Angeles’ as the debut project from the newly launched Ebony Studios.”
For more information on Falkon, visit www.falkoncontent.com.