Theo Avgerinos

Unless Darren can survive New York's largest drug mogul, write a paper on Dante's "Inferno," escape three thugs chasing the wrong guy and sell fifty pills of ecstasy to make his tuition payment, he'll never date the girl of his dreams.

A broken down collegiate football hero gets a shot at stardom during the eleventh hour of LA's nihilistic sub-prime mortgage boom.

In this cinematic portrait of the forgotten Mississippi Delta, Rising Hope follows inspirational individuals who, despite challenging personal hardships, are determined to keep hope alive in their communities and turn the tables on the degrading narrative of rural poverty.