It was just over a year ago when we announced that a scripted feature film for the big screen based on the Black Mafia Family (BMF) was in development by Program Pictures, the production company behind Antoine Fuqua's in limbo Tupac Shakur biopic.
"Flenory and his brother Terry built their organization beginning in the 1980s, and gave birth and romanticized the extravagant, flamboyant lifestyle that hip-hop is known for today, taking their cues from the movie Scarface… We have a passion and enthusiasm in bringing [their story] to the big screen… We’re working closely with Meech and Tammy Cowins to make sure every aspect of the story is done correctly," a rep for Program Pictures says.
I haven't heard much else about that project since then, and can't tell you where exactly it stands.
What I can tell you is that what looks to be an unrelated documentary feature on the BMF is complete, and will be making its theatrical debut next month, as I learned this afternoon.
From Errante Films Productions / Image Entertainment / Joe Rock Productions comes BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Drug Empire, directed by D. Sikorski.
Based on a story that's said to have initiated one of the most expansive DEA investigations in USA history, the synopsis for the shortened documentary reads:
BMF is a 80-minute documentary that explores the story of the 15-year investigation by the DEA, FBI and an elite drug task force called HIDTA that resulted in 41 defendants across the country being charged in one of the largest drug conspiracy cases ever. The film is a tale that combines the story of a criminal syndicate that lived on a code of honor and conduct that rivaled any of the five Mafia families, and ended just as dramatically under a hailstorm of government informants, wiretaps and surveillance that ultimately caused the downfall of the Hip-Hop Drug Empire.
For those unfamiliar, the Black Mafia Family (BMF), was a drug cartel that was created in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1980s, by Demetrius "Big Meech" and Terry Flenory. Over the following decade or so, their organization grew into a hugely successful nationwide enterprise.
Soon after, they began to use their financial gains to branch out into other businesses, creating a hip-hop music label called BMF Entertainment, promoting the careers of a few artists, some fairly well known, like Young Jeezy.
But the castle they built all came crashing down in the mid-2000s, when they were busted, indicted and convicted on charges of running a notorious criminal enterprise that allegedly grossed over $270 million during the period of its existence. Both brothers were sentenced to prison for 30 years to life. Other members of their organization would also face jail sentences.
The film is scheduled to make its premiere at the Cobble Hill Theater in Brooklyn, NY, on September 27, at 7PM – listed as a Red Carpet premiere event.
No word on where it'll go after that.
Watch the trailer below:
