2x Sundance Director Sterling Hampton IV Expands Narrative Footprint With Star-Studded Black Cast In Coming-of-Age Dramedy Inauguration Day
EXCLUSIVE: Sterling Hampton IV, the acclaimed two-time Sundance-nominated director behind award-winning documentaries and high-profile music collaborations, is expanding his narrative work with his newest film about his personal experience. Production is officially underway on Inauguration Day, a coming-of-age ensemble dramedy set against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s historic 2009 presidential inauguration.
The film stars a dynamic, Black ensemble cast: Jermaine Harris (Disney’s Saturdays), Tim Johnson Jr. (Everybody Still Hates Chris), Israel Johnson (Bunk’d), Sabrina Lassegue (Get The Girl), Victoria Ogbonna (All the Men’s Hangers) and Tevin Johsnon (NBA 2k). The project reflects Hampton’s deep commitment to culturally grounded, youth-centered storytelling with emotional authenticity.
The screenplay was written by Sabrina Lassegue, based on an original story and concept by Sterling Hampton IV. The film is being produced by Nina Childs, Sabrina Lassegue, and Hampton, with Israel and Tim Johnson Jr. also serving as associate producers.
The film reunites Jermaine Harris and Tim Johnson Jr., who co-starred in Marsai Martin’s Disney Channel series Saturdays, now bringing their chemistry to a sharply different, emotionally grounded space. Real-life brothers Tim and Israel Johnson will share the screen and contribute behind the scenes as associate-producers, deepening the film’s thematic resonance around identity, legacy, and belonging.
Set over the course of one transformative day on a predominantly white high school campus, Inauguration Day explores identity, assimilation, political disillusionment, and emotional isolation through the eyes of Black teens with a comedic twist. While the nation celebrates progress, these students confront the quiet reality of what it means to feel unseen within systems that praise their potential but often overlook their presence.
Hampton, best known for his visual mastery in documentary and commercial spaces, has helmed major campaigns for Mercedes-AMG x will.i.am, Xupermask, and Honeywell, and earned recognition for his longtime collaborations with will.i.am, including the recent viral documentary East L.A.
Inauguration Day is currently filming in Los Angeles under Hampton’s production company Clash Of The Artistic Minds, with a 2026 festival release anticipated. Additional cast and production announcements to follow.
With Inauguration Day, Sterling Hampton IV continues his evolution as a narrative filmmaker, stepping briefly out of the unscripted world to deliver a socially-charged, character-driven story rooted in memory, identity, and the complexity of progress.