This Day in Indie History: Hurricane Streets

by MovieMaker Staff | Published February 12, 2007

The Sundance hit Hurricane Streets was released in the U.S. on this day in 1998. The movie, about a young teen trying to pull his life together under a barrage of peer pressure, was written and directed by freshman moviemaker Morgan J. Freeman. It starred Brendan Sexton III (Empire Records, Boys Donâ€™t Cry) as Marcus, the teen who dreams of moving his troubled mother (Edie Falco) to the untroubled landscape of New Mexico. Hurricane Streets is notable for being the first feature to win three awards when it screened at Sundance in 1997, including Best Director, Best Cinematography and the Audience Award for best Dramatic Film.

Factoid: Morgan J. Freeman knows when to hold on to a good thing. Before working with Sexton on Hurricane Streets, the two partnered for the writer-directorâ€™s 1996 short film, Boom. They originally met when Freeman worked as a second assistant director to Todd Solondz on Welcome to the Dollhouse, and found themselves together again for Just Like Heaven, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.