By Toure Muhammad -Contributing Writer-
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) – The Internet is buzzing about “Black Coffee” a new movie hitting select theaters Jan. 10 starring Darrin Dewitt Henson, Lamman Rucker, Erica Hubbard, Gabrielle Dennis and Christian Keyes.
Directed by Mark Harris and produced by N.D. Brown and Harris, the film will have a limited theatrical release starting January 10 in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Black Coffee is a story about Robert (Darrin Henson) who is feeling crushed after he’s fired from the company his father built from the ground up and his girlfriend leaves him. In this moment of despair, he meets Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis) and begins to find his purpose in life. But Morgan’s ex husband Hill (Lamman Rucker) and Robert’s girlfriend Mita (Erica Hubbard) are still in the picture which could be the definition of Facebook’s “it’s complicated” relationship status.
This is a positive, PG rated film with middle class Black characters searching for love and purpose in life. Harris seems to deliberately show love and not lust in the film and the underlying messages include the importance of striving for excellence, accepting responsibility for your own destiny and the need for Black people to spark economic development and job creation.
For Harris, who created the annual Englewood Film Festival in Chicago and has produced 13 feature films and two short films, this is the first movie debuting on the big screen in AMC Theaters in four cities.
“It’s our first film to hit theaters in this magnitude. I just enjoy making films and pray I can continue to do so. I’m just going to keep moving; keep people in tune with the time and what must be done with my films. The mission will be complete when there’s complete freedom, justice, equality and peace in the world,” said Harris.
Adding more cities depends on the performance of the film in Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. “If you all know people in these cities please tell them to go see ‘Black Coffee’ movie,” he added.
Stars of the film have been tweeting in excited anticipation of the film’s release.
“It’s been 6 yrs since I was on the big screen and I have nothing but gratitude for Mark Harris and N.D. Brown,” tweeted Darrin DeWitt Henson who starred in the cable show series “Soul Food” and is very aware of choosing roles that show authentic, hardworking, evolving and positive Black men.
“For me, myself, my family, my neighborhood and my country, it is important to me, if I am going to be a voice in my community, to be a voice for education and positivity,” said Henson.
Henson sparked a strong friendship with Harris while producing the film. “Mark is a great, great talent. He and I took a lot of time talking about the script, the character and our personal desires and efforts to convey. He’s my brother and we found out we want the same things; social, economic change. I can’t wait to work with Mark again,” said Henson in an exclusive interview.
“Working with Darrin Henson has been amazing. He’s very in tune with what’s going on. He’s very well read and he studies, which makes a director’s job easy. Working with all the actors on Black Coffee has been an amazing experience for me. This was my first time shooting a film in L.A. and they made things so easy for me; they all made me feel at home. I’d love the opportunity to work with these actors again.”
Henson is not only a talented actor and dancer, but the health conscious New York native has written self-help books (darrinhenson.com) and is often invited to give lectures and talks to young people on a variety of subjects. Henson credits his parents and many role models in the community for right guidance including his exposure to Islam.
“The Minister (Louis Farrakhan) often talks about how important it is to listen, learn and then act upon what you know and how important it is to be independent and not needing other people to do for you what you can do for yourself. He talks about how imperative it is to be well taught, well spoken and well educated,” said Henson.
