All the Places Judas and the Black Messiah Filmed in Cleveland

Judas and the Black Messiah, the Fred Hampton biopic starring Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons and Dominique Fishback, opens Friday, Feb. 12 in theaters nationwide. As with other WB 2021 releases, it will premiere concurrently on the streaming service HBO Max.

The film, produced and directed by Shaka King, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this week and has received glistening early reviews.

Though the story transpires almost entirely in Chicago — Hampton was the charismatic leader of the Illinois Black Panther Party — it was filmed in Cleveland, with shooting locations concentrated in the Slavic Village and North Broadway neighborhoods.

As in past projects filmed locally, the Greater Cleveland Film Commission provided assistance in scouting locations and coordinating local crew members.   

“The Greater Cleveland Film Commission worked closely with the Judas and the Black Messiah producers to ensure they had everything they needed to film in Cleveland," GCFC told Scene, in an emailed statement. "We are grateful for their support of our mission to create jobs and further economic development through the film / media industry."

Upon request, the Film Commission provided portions of the film's local shooting schedule from October, 2019, to help us identify familiar locations when we're watching next week. The following locations were used for interior and exterior shots.

-North Presbyterian Church, 4015 Superior Ave.
-Cleveland Public Auditorium, 500 Lakeside Ave.
-3rd District Police Headquarters, 2001 Payne Ave.
-Josephat's Church, 1433 E. 33rd St.
-Croatian Tavern, 3244 St. Clair Ave.
-Lane Metropolitan Church, 2131 E. 46th St.
-Zverina Building, 5450 Broadway Ave.
-The Jednota Building (Slovak Catholic Credit Union), 3289 E. 55th St.
-Azman & Sons Butcher, 6501 St. Clair Ave.
-The Nash, 3563 E. 80th St.
-Thoroughbreds Barber, 11109 Ashbury Ave.
-White Oaks Restaurant, Westlake
-Carrie Cerino's Restaurant, North Royalton, (closed in March)
-Mansfield Reformatory, Mansfield

The Black Panther headquarters, in the film, are located in the Zverina Building in the Broadway Avenue Historic District. The rally scene prominent in the film's trailer (above) was shot at Lane Metropolitan Church. The exterior of the Hampton residence was actually filmed in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. It's one of the brick townhomes on the corner of W. 65th and Pear. A suite in Shoreway Commerce Park served as the interior for the Hampton residence.

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