As college hazing falls under greater scrutiny around the country, it seems like Hollywood is suddenly very interested in making movies about it. But seeing it through the lens of an African-American at a black university is something we haven't had since Spike Lee's School Daze, to the best of my knowledge. And that is reason enough to take an interest in Burning Sands, which recently premiered at Sundance and is set to hit Netflix soon.
Directed and co-written by Gerard McMurray, this will be the next place you can spot Moonlight breakout Trevante Rhodes. He co-stars alongside Trevor Jackson, Alfre Woodard, Steve Harris, Tosin Cole, and DeRon Horton in the story of a young college freshman who has everything going for him, until he's put through the brutal rigors of Hell Week. Just the name alone tells me it's something to avoid. Here's the synopsis:
In his freshman year of college, it seems Zurich has everything going for him; he has the respect of his teachers and university administration, the love and devotion of a wonderful girlfriend, and he’s been selected for admission to a prestigious black fraternity on campus. But as Zurich embarks on the Hell Week of pledging his fraternity, the harsh trials of entry into brotherhood begin to test the limits of his self-worth. As the intensifying abuse begins to become untenable, Zurich struggles to honor the fraternity’s code of silence, and the scaffolding of his life outside the frat begins to dismantle.
Netflix will debut Burning Sands on March 10th.
