Denzel Washington’s upcoming film, Roman J. Israel Esq. is now premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, and we’ve got a first-look photo.

Denzel Washington stars in Columbia Pictures' ROMAN J. ISRAEL ESQ. — Denzel Washington stars in Columbia Pictures’ ROMAN J. ISRAEL ESQ.

The film is from Oscar nominee Dan Gilroy.

“The Toronto International Film Festival has a wonderful history with both Dan Gilroy and Denzel Washington. Three years ago TIFF had the honor of premiering Gilroy’s directorial debut, Nightcrawler, at the Festival. In addition to previously screening The Equalizer and presenting the World Premiere of Training Day, which earned Washington an Oscar for Best Actor, the Washington-starring The Magnificent Seven was our Opening Night film last year. A project that teams up both of these remarkable creators is one not to be missed,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF.

The film is financed by MACRO Ventures and Bron Studios, who did Fences, which Washington starred in last year.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended when a turbulent series of events challenge the activism that has defined his career. Colin Farrell costars as the ambitious, monied lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.

The film’s cast also includes Carmen Ejogo, Joseph David-Jones (Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit), DeRon Horton (Netflix‘s Dear White People), as well as Lynda Gravatt, Amanda Warren, Shelley Hennig, Hugo Armstrong, Sam Gilroy, Tony Plana, Amari Cheatom and more.

The executive producers are Brian Oliver, Betsy Danbury, Charles D. King, Kim Roth, Poppy Hanks, Michael Bloom, Adam Pincus, Aaron L. Gilbert, Alex Lebovici, Steve Ponce, Derek Dauchy, and Ben Ross.

TIFF kicks off next week.

Joseph David-Jones

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