Netflix Picks Up Spike Lee-Produced See You Yesterday

Netflix has picked up the rights to the Spike Lee-produced sci-fi film See You Yesterday. Netflix announced on Thursday that it has acquired the film, which was written and directed by Stefon Bristol.

See You Yesterday follows two science prodigies, C.J. and Sebastian, who build make-shift time machines to save C.J.’s brother from being wrongfully killed by a police officer. It’s based on Bristol’s NYU Film School thesis of the same name, which won Best HBO Short Film at Martha’s Vineyard-African American Film Festival and was a finalist at the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival. The short is currently available to stream on Cinemax’s streaming platform, Max Go.

“I started this project when Mike Brown and Eric Gardner were murdered. That was in 2014. And we are still dealing with deadly police misconduct. I made this film because I don’t want the conversation on police brutality to slow down. I’ve never seen a film quite like this before – a sci-fi movie with brilliant Black teenagers. CJ and Sebastian represent a Brooklyn that we rarely get to see. CJ is a no-nonsense, brutally honest, aspiring astrophysicist. Sebastian is an overachieving, science prodigy whose main goal in life is to have over 200 patented inventions. I think the audience will relate to these charismatic characters. And we can both entertain and make you think,” said Bristol.

The feature film stars newcomers Eden Duncan-Smith and Danté Crichlow alongside rapper Brian ‘Astro’ Bradley, Johnathan Nieves, Marsha S. Blake, Wavvy Jonez, Myra Lucretia Taylor, and Ron Bobb Semple. It will premiere on Netflix next year.