A riveting trailer has been released for the indie drama Rob Peace starring Jay Will as the title character, and a great ensemble cast that includes Oscar-nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mary J. Blige, as well as Gbenga Akinnagbe, Michael Kelly, Mare Winningham, and Camila Cabello.

Ejiofor not only stars in the film, but he directed it and wrote the screenplay, based on the bestselling book The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace written by Jeff Hobbs. This is Ejiofor’s second directorial feature after The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

The film’s synopsis reads: “Robert Peace grew up in an impoverished section of Newark and later graduated from Yale with degrees in molecular biophysics & biochemistry while on scholarship.

“Peace led a dual life in academia & research while also earning six figures selling marijuana. Based on Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling book. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s thoughtful adaptation of Hobbs’ biography examines Peace’s struggle to reconcile his academic ambitions with mounting economic & family pressures.

“Although his (Jay Will) talents are nurtured from childhood by his devoted mother (Mary J. Blige), he lives in the shadow of his father (Ejiofor) who is imprisoned for a murky double murder.

“Intellectually curious and restlessly entrepreneurial, Peace lives a divided life, tenaciously working in a university research lab while secretly raising extra cash for his dad’s defense.”

This looks like a beautiful and captivating film, and I look forward to watching it. Check out the trailer below, and watch Rob Peace in select US theaters on August 16th.