New film is set during 2003 blackout

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- BET has announced plans to air "Blackout," a new movie set in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, N.Y., during the massive power outage of 2003.

Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Saldana, Melvin Van Peebles and LaTanya Richardson-Jackson headline the cast of the movie, set to premiere on BET Feb. 1.

To be released on DVD Feb. 5, the film was written and directed by Jerry LaMothe, and produced by Jeffrey Wright.

"It's very much about the interweaving of the lives of this community. I thought it would be fun to paint an illustration of who we are," Wright said in a statement. "There are a lot of pressures on this community. I think the film explores some of these pressures within the context of the blackout of 2003."