The story

When Tracy Smith dies, he leaves behind three sons by three different mothers. Charles, a touring rapper chasing a breakout. Damon, a hotel manager holding his life together with a smile. Aaron, a college athlete with a short fuse who did not even know his brothers existed.

They are strangers. The only thing they share is the charming, absent man who let each of them down the same way.

His will comes with one condition. To settle his estate, the three of them have to drive his ashes across the country together, from Kansas City all the way to a beach back home in Rhode Island, so he can see the country one last time. One car. One urn. A lifetime of things left unsaid.

What begins as an argument becomes something none of them expected. Over diners, motels, bad decisions, and a few surprises their father left along the way, three strangers slowly turn into a family. And the man who was never there spends his last act trying, finally, to be a better one. We never quite know if he made it. By the end, we respect that he wanted to.

Why we are making this

This story is ours. Two of the three brothers on the page wrote this film, and the father, the absence, and the ache of finding each other late are drawn from our real lives.

We are telling it because the world is full of stories that flatten Black men and absent fathers into a single tired headline, and the truth is so much bigger, funnier, and more tender than that. This is a Black story, made by Black filmmakers, about the families that shape us whether they meant to or not.

The sound

The music that raised us scores every mile. De La Soul on the tape deck. The era bleeding from 1992 into 2013. In this film, 90s hip-hop is not the soundtrack. It is memory, and it is the engine that carries the whole road trip.

We have already started

We did not just write this. We shot it. The opening of the film already exists as a companion short called "Like Father," currently in post-production, so you can feel the exact tone and look of the feature before a single frame of it is shot.

Made in Columbus

We are producing this through our studio, Idu House, and shooting the feature right here in Columbus, Ohio, hiring local crew and creating opportunity for emerging Black filmmakers in our own backyard. The project is also fiscally sponsored by BAVC Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which means larger gifts can be made tax deductible.

Where your support goes

Every dollar moves us from script to screen. Your contribution funds the people and tools that bring this world to life, from camera and crew to the music that gives the film its heartbeat. Check out our Wish List to see exactly what you are helping us build.

How you can help

Three ways, and all of them matter:

Follow us. It is free, and it directly helps us unlock Seed&Spark's distribution and matching opportunities. This one button makes a real difference.
Contribute. Find a Wish List item or an incentive that speaks to you and jump in. Every amount counts.
Share. Send this to one person who grew up on this music, or who knows what it means to find family late.

We are not just making a movie. We are telling the truth about fathers, sons, and the love that survives even when a parent does not know how to show it.

Thank you for riding with us.

What you are looking for is closer than you think.

Idu House

Like Father, Like Sons

What you're looking for is closer than you think.

Team Leaderboard

Team Members