Director Miles Warren’s Feature Film ‘Bruiser' Acquired by Disney’s Onyx Collective

Director Miles Warren’s feature drama Bruiser was acquired by Disney’s Onyx Collective prior to its Discovery Section premiere at TIFF. Bruiser marks the collective’s first narrative film, having acquired Questlove’s Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul in 2021. Miles is represented as a commercial director in the United States by New York-based production company Team Bubbly. 

Bruiser originally premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and screened at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival as a short film. 

A 14-year-old boy turns to a charismatic loner for help after being beaten up, in director Miles Warren’s searing feature debut about fathers, families, and the effects of fighting. 

Fourteen-year-old Darious (Hall) has a lot going for him. His sometimes stern father, Malcolm (Anderson), works hard to keep his car dealership afloat and put Darious through private school, while Darious’ more even-keeled mother, Monica (Shinelle Azoroh), does her best to make sure her son always has someone he can talk to. But there are things Darious doesn’t know how to talk about. When a kid beats him up, humiliating him in front of his crush, he runs into the woods, where he meets Porter (Rhodes), a charismatic man with a hulking physique who lives alone on a houseboat. The pair become fast friends, with Porter offering to teach Darious how to defend himself. What Darious doesn’t know is that Porter is his biological father, and abandoned Monica before he was born. Porter wants to make amends and be part of the boy’s life, but his return dredges up a secret history of brutality.

A born and bred New Yorker, Miles graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in film studies, distinguishing himself as a keen storyteller. His burgeoning career has given him the opportunity to take on projects for cutting-edge fashion designers, The Blonds, and the youth organization mentoring kids through basketball, New Heights. He is also a 2014 Tribeca Film fellow and a 2016 Sundance Ignite fellow.