Official Trailer for Qasim Basir’s ‘To Live and Die and Live’ Detroit Film

Official Trailer for Qasim Basir’s ‘To Live and Die and Live’ Detroit Film

by Alex Billington
May 6, 2025
Source: Twitter

“We are here to live with everything you’ve got…” Samuel Goldwyn Films has revealed an official trailer for To Live and Die and Live, a unique indie film set in Detroit from filmmaker Qasim Basir. This initially premiered in 2023 at the Sundance Film Festival and will finally be released this year – starting in confined theaters this month. Muhammad returns home to Detroit to bury his stepfather and is thrust into settling his accounts, but Muhammad’s struggles with depression and addiction may finish him before he finishes the task. Muhammad has returned for the funeral, but his own battle with addiction, which he hides from the world, drives him to immediately fade away into the sultry, late-night, drug-saturated after-hours of Detroit and an equally intoxicating romantic relationship. One of the most stunning contemporary films shot in Detroit. Starring Amin Joseph as Muhammad, with Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Dana Gourrier, Maryam Basir, and Samantha Basir. I saw this at Sundance and it’s very good – an emotionally affecting, intimate, vulnerable film about growing up and finding peace. Worth a look.

Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Qasim Basir’s film To Live and Die and Live, found via Twitter:

Watch an exclusive trailer for Qasim Basir’s To Live and Die and Live

Only in theaters on May 16. pic.twitter.com/MMsT6kE2zk

— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) May 5, 2025

“A film inspired by struggles I’ve had in the film business, battles people I know fight every day, the unbelievable stories I know, and the people who have left a lasting mark. To show Detroit like it’s never been seen. To talk about addiction through the eyes of black people, who aren’t depicted as crackheads. To say to all those suffering after these brutal years of love and loss that we’ve collectively had, I wanted to tell this story for you.” –Director Qasim Basir

To Live and Die and Live follows a film director (starring Amin Joseph) who returns to Detroit to bury his stepfather & settle his accounts, but his struggles with addiction & loss may finish him before he finishes the task. As elderly and novel relationships unfold, he’s forced to confront the emotional and psychological toll of his past and the murky side of his city’s spirited, gritty landscape. To Live and Die and Live is written and directed by American indie filmmaker Qasim “Q” Basir, director of the films Mooz-Lum, Destined, A Boy. A Girl. A Dream., and He Looked like a Postcard previously. It’s produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Amin Joseph, Samantha Basir, Dana Offenbach, Cory Hardrict, and Omari Hardwick. This first premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival a few years ago. Basir’s To Live and Die and Live in select US theaters starting on May 16th, 2025 this summer before it’s on VOD later this year. Who wants to watch?

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