Once Again (For the Very First Time)

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1:53

Once Again (For the Very First Time)

2024

1h 36m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Fantasy

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6 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Repetition is an illusion. Everything is always new. Legendary street dancer DeRay and spoken-word poet and battle rapper Naima explore a powerful love built on recognition and trauma that contains both the potential for inspiration and destruction. Take an electrifying journey through the vibrant and impressionistic experience of their relationship to each other and through their own creative personal voyages in this hip-hop fantasia that opens a door into the choices we all make in our lives.

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Wendy Ide

Screen International

11/21/2023

It is a perplexing and disorientating piece of storytelling, but throw yourself into the visceral energy that pulses from the screen, and it can be a thrilling experience.

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Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

07/14/2025

3/5

If the narrative proves frustrating--especially in its early stages--since it takes so long to figure out who's who and how they relate to each other, Once Again (For the Very First Time) benefits from two charismatic performers [and] appealing music.

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Michael Talbot-Haynes

Film Threat

11/08/2024

8.5/10

This film is a trip worth taking more than once.

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Theodoor Steen

ScreenAnarchy

11/05/2024

Feels alive with the spirit of something being made for the very first time. This is a reset, a renewal. It is the sort of film that is what it is about. And it couldn't be more thrilling.

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

10/24/2024

Bold and experimental, but often clunky, repetitive and pretentious without palpable chemistry between the leads.

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Marina Richter

AWFJ.org

12/05/2023

ONCE AGAIN (for the first time) isn't your standard narrative. It's a film that feeds on artistic expressions given through dance and verse. Writer/director Boaz Yakin delivers truly brilliant moments that turn his film into an ever more addictive watch.

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Jacob M

@RT76517086 02/04/2025

A powerful visual experience soaked in lyricism and grit.

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David L

@RT45524678 01/30/2025

this movie ruined my life

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Arie

10/27/2024

This movie was ANAZING!!! Had me emotional , dancing , feeling good an all!

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Boaz Yakin

Director

Jeroboam Bozeman

DeRay

Jeroboam Bozeman

Naima

Emma Faith Bullard

Actor

Dupree Francois Porter

Actor

Tommy Raps

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Once Again (For the Very First Time): Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Repetition is an illusion. Everything is always new. Legendary street dancer DeRay and spoken-word poet and battle rapper Naima explore a powerful love built on recognition and trauma that contains both the potential for inspiration and destruction. Take an electrifying journey through the vibrant and impressionistic experience of their relationship to each other and through their own creative personal voyages in this hip-hop fantasia that opens a door into the choices we all make in our lives.

Director: Boaz Yakin
Producer: Jonathan Gray, Nicholas Gray, Boaz Yakin
Screenwriter: Boaz Yakin
Distributor: Indican Pictures
Production Co: Peaceable Assembly, Six Feet Over, Uncompromised Creative
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $29.9K
Runtime: 1h 36m