River Phoenix’s last film, Dark Blood, was 80% complete when the young actor died of an overdose while on the town in LA in 1993. In 1999, original director George Sluizer rescued the film after discovering it was set to be destroyed within days to create more storage space. Now, on the film’s twentieth anniversary, the film has been finished by Sluizer and will enjoy its North American premier at the 30th Miami International Film Festival.
“Dark Blood is a film of legend, one of Hollywood’s great mysteries,” said MIFF Executive Director Jaie Laplante. “The tragic loss of River Phoenix’s outstanding talent is still profoundly felt 20 years later. We are proud that George Sluizer has honored Miami as the place to finally share his remarkable collaboration with Phoenix and the other great artists involved with Dark Blood.”
