‘The Listeners’ to Have World Premiere This Month

Here is the press release announcing the world premiere of The Listeners, starring Blair Underwood and former NFL star Vernon Davis. Take a look:

“The Listeners,” a psychological drama from Emmy-nominated filmmaker Joslyn Rose, will have its world premiere at the Independent Filmmakers Showcase LA Film Festival this month.  The short stars Emmy & Grammy winner Blair Underwood (“Longlegs,”), former Super Bowl champion Vernon Davis (“The Ritual Killer”) and Bechir Sylvain (“Jurassic World: Rebirth”) along with additional cast Simone Leanora and En Vogue’s Cindy Herron. Original music is by Academy Award & Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste and Grammy Award nominated producer No I.D.

 The film arrives with early acclaim from the Festival, already earning Best Actor honors for Blair Underwood and Best Director for Joslyn Rose. “The Listeners” will screen at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre during the festival, with a subsequent Los Angeles presentation at the Culver Theatre on June 4 as part of the 17th Annual New Media Film Festival.

Written by Joslyn Rose and Dominique Mouton (“The Lower Bottoms”), the film explores music as a healing modality, at the intersection of a psychological thriller and a Twilight Zone–like reality, blending grounded performances with elevated, genre-driven storytelling. “The Listeners” follows David (Davis), a once-brilliant jazz musician who mysteriously loses his ability to hear music.  Doctors (Underwood and Leonara) search for a diagnosis while debating whether his condition is neurological or psychological.  David experiences an unconventional unraveling that forces him to confront memory, trauma, and perception — ultimately questioning whether healing requires scientific proof, or simply the willingness to listen inward.