River Phoenix was just 23 when he died a tragic Hollywood death, leaving behind a string of films which would be held up reverently by those who knew him and those who simply wished they could have. When he passed in 1993, however, he was working on a film which would eventually be shelved and unshelved repeatedly before finally being finished a startling near-20 years later.
That film, “Dark Blood”, has already debuted at a Dutch film festival, but it’s about to make its U.S. premiere in Miami, where it will be screened at the International Film Festival in March.
“’Dark Blood’ is a film of legend, one of Hollywood’s great mysteries. The tragic loss of River Phoenix’s outstanding talent is still profoundly felt 20 years later. We are proud that George Sluizer has honored Miami as the place to finally share his remarkable collaboration with Phoenix and the other great artists involved with ‘Dark Blood’,” said festival director Jaie Laplante.
The film’s director, George Sluizer, says he went to great lengths to have the movie made, including saving it from being thrown out after it was placed in storage.
“I have good assistants, if I can put it this way, and some people who are clever in finding the right key,” he said. “I am an enterprising person.”