North of the 10 screens in the South Loop

North of the 10 is a new movie where five friends bond while trying to break into Chicago's entertainment scene. A model, an actor, a dancer, a chef and a gamer all come together to pursue their dreams in a world full of challenges.

A few days before the film's debut on BET+, many of the cast and crew of North of the 10 attended a private screening to promote and enjoy their new endeavor.

On February 8, Wesley Armstrong strutted onto the red carpet at the Showplace Icon theater wearing a custom-made suit. The “Wuz Good” social media influencer plays a lead role as Shane, a dancer in North of the 10. He described the film as a story about brotherhood and persevering, “It is about being yourself at the end of the day after hearing many no's. My brothers are going after their dreams and we all push each other. We support each other in chasing that dream. North of the 10 is not just a location, it is a state of mind!”

Armstrong did not have a dancer background and found the part to be very challenging. “The acting was close to how I really am, but the dancing was a physical challenge. You grow when you are uncomfortable and I grew a lot,” he stated.

Tosin Morohunfola stopped on the red carpet to chat about his role as Levon Rooker,” My character is an actor, so it is not a huge stretch to play him. He experiences what all actors experience, some victories and a lot of rejection! Rejection is hard and it hurts. A big part of coping and succeeding in the business is learning how to handle rejection. This movie and my character tackle that. You will see many ups and downs in this movie.”

When asked about working with George Lopez, Morohunfola said,”I was lucky to work with this legendary comedian and personality. We do some very unique work at the beginning of the film. Everybody will want to see it because no one has seen George like this before!” He went on to say that working with Mykelti Williamson was a dream come true and looks at him as a role model.

Morohunfola continues to work on his TV series Run the World on Starz going into season two next month. He will be directing his own feature film later in the year called The Pulpit.

Don Benjamin had the idea for the story five years ago before bringing it to writer and director Ryan LaMarr. They worked together to finish writing the piece and then shot a sizzle reel. He explained that the project was denied several times after pitching it around to executives before it was finally approved.

It was filmed in Chicago, Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. Benjamin described Abu Dhabi as particularly difficult to shoot the film in as far as culture and temperature. He said a whole new crew was brought on for that location. Overall, he was very pleased with the final product.

He confessed on the carpet to hoping to eventually work with Dwayne Johnson one day. “I have met him a couple of times, so I hope to do a film with him. I will be a skinny version of The Rock!”

LaMarr originally pitched North of the 10 as a television show but decided to make a movie instead after being turned down by studios. “Now the same people are asking us to make a television show about it,” he said.

His last film Canal Street opened up doors for his ability to obtain such an impressive cast and explained that he writes scripts for ensembles. “It is not unusual to see George Lopez or Mykelti Williamson pop up in my work regularly,” he said while on the red carpet.

A DJ played tunes that evening before the screening, followed by a Q&A and after-party in the bar upstairs to the massive cinema space located at 1011 S. Delano Ct.

North of the 10 began streaming two days later on February 10 on the platform BET+.