U2’s Larry Mullen Jr. & ‘Left Behind’ Creatives On Dyslexia Documentary, Abramorama Acquisition, & Why Parents Sometimes Just Don’t Understand

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: “You know, it’s a political movement in a kind of odd way,” says U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. of the documentary Left Behind and its tale of New York mothers attempting to bring into being the first school for dyslexics in the Big Apple’s public system.

In many ways, a classic story of successfully taking on City Hall, the Anna Toomey directed film follows the parents and their families in a battle that saw to the creation of the South Bronx Literacy Academy last year. “That’s the beauty of filmmaking, that layering on of here’s how we can bring in all of these creative ideas to express something,” Toomey tells Deadline of the techniques and tones Left Behind experimented with, including songs by producer Mullen, to depict a story that screams out difficult on all levels.

Having premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival last month, the Green Hummingbird Entertainment and Velvet Strand produced Left Behind also now has secured North American theatrical distribution through Abramorama, Deadline can reveal. “They really felt that it was something that spoke to them,” producer Sian Edwards-Beal says of the theatrical distribution, marketing and rights management company Abramorama CEO Karol Martesko-Fenster added, in a statement to Deadline: “We are thrilled to work with Anna Toomey, the dedicated producing team, and the extended support groups behind Left Behind, who have collaborated to bring this important subject into the foreground.

We’ve seen the film’s conversation-starting power at festivals and special screenings and are looking forward to sharing the film widely and have it inspire many more conversations leading to needed changes.” Under the Abramorama, deal, Left Behind will debut on January 17, 2025,