Spike Lee's documentary film of the Broadway musical Passing Strange will will open the 2009 Downtown Film Festival-Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 12, at 7:30 pm at the AT&T Center Theater. In addition, the film will receive a limited commercial release in New York and other cities on August 21, and will be available as an "On Demand" selection on many national cable systems starting on Wednesday, August 26. It is also scheduled to air on PBS in 2010 as part of the Great Performances series.

The show, a semiautobiographical story of a young man's coming of age, starred Stew, Daniel Breaker and de'Adre Aziza, all of who received Tony Award nominations for their performances, along with Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, and Rebecca Naomi Jones, as well as co-creator Heidi Rodewald. The show was directed by Annie Dorsen. Stew won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.

Lee's many films include Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Crooklyn.