IFC Films and Sundance Selects have released the official trailer for BLAZE, an emotional, toe-tapping biographical drama co-written, produced, and directed by Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke (THE HOTTEST STATE, TRAINING DAY). Based on her memoir Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley, Sybil Rosen co-wrote the screenplay alongside Hawke as a way to commemorate and honor the life and times of the country showman. In 1989, Foley was shot in the chest and killed by Carey January, the son of Foley's friend Concho January. He was 39 years young.
BLAZE stars newcomer Ben Dickey as Blaze Foley, a champion of the Texas outlaw music scene that gave birth to artists such as Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and many more. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding re-imagined versions of Blaze’s past, present and future. The different strands explore his love affair with Sybil Rosen (Alia Shawkat); his last, dark night on earth; and the impact of his songs and his death had on his fans, friends, and foes. The storyline terminates in a bittersweet ending that acknowledges Blaze's profound highs and lows, as well as the impressions he made on the people who shared his journey.
After the film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Dickey earned himself the coveted Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting. The upcoming musically-charged journey also stars Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton, Richard Linklater, Alynda Segarra, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, and Kris Kristofferson.
The film is scheduled to open in Texas in August, with a wide-release planned for all markets come September of this year.