Spike Lee’s production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, announced yesterday that Lee will release his first independently distributed film, Red Hook Summer, on August 10. Lee’s company is partnering with Variance Films for Red Hook Summer’s theatrical release, which will begin in New York City theaters and eventually expand to the top 30 markets throughout the month of August. Lee financed the movie and shot it in relative secrecy over a period of 19 days last year in Brooklyn.

WATCH A SNEAK PEEK OF ‘RED HOOK SUMMER’ HERE

Red Hook Summer sparked serious debate earlier this year when it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and left many saying this could be Lee’s most controversial film yet. The movie tells the story of a boy from Atlanta who comes to Brooklyn to spend the summer with this preacher grandfather, who he’s never met before. The latter part of the film takes a turn to the shocking, as a main character is revealed to have committed a heinous act that involves sex and Bible scripture.

theGrio: Spike Lee premieres ‘Red Hook Summer’, unleashes tirade at Sundance

According to the Los Angeles Times the movie “elicited arguments that ping-ponged around the theaters and restaurants of Sundance after the film premiered. (The initial screening was made even more controversial when Lee took to the stage and engaged in an outburst in which he said that he made the movie independently because Hollywood studios “know nothing about black people.”)”

In the official press release for Red Hook Summer Lee said that he was an independent filmmaker in 1986 with his first movie, She’s Gotta Have It, and he still is today. “I’m elated to join forces with Variance Films for the independent distribution of my new joint Red Hook Summer,” Lee said. “We look forward to getting this film into the marketplace, where we believe 100 percent that there is a starving audience for American independent films like Red Hook Summer.”

Dylan Marchetti, Founder of Variance Films, is anxious for the film’s theatrical release, “Spike is truly one of the godfathers of independent filmmaking, and Red Hook Summer is an entertaining, yet thoughtful, film that says something we think needs to be said. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Spike and his team to ensure that audiences across the country will be experiencing this fantastic film with their friends and family,” Marchetti said.

Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC