Laura Benanti, Carlos Miranda, Chris Diamantopoulos & Jagger Rodriguez To Topline Coming-Of-Age Film ‘The Ditch’

EXCLUSIVE: Laura Benanti (No Hard Feelings), Carlos Miranda (Station 19), Chris Diamantopoulos (The Boys in the Boat) and newcomer Jagger Rodriguez have wrapped production on The Ditch, an indie coming-of-age film from writer-director Nicholas Manuel Pino.

Shot in New York, the film takes place against the backdrop of the 1994 U.S. World Cup, as 11-year-old Nicky (Rodriguez) inspires his misfit crew to fall in love with soccer. But when he’s drafted onto a competitive team, he must decide between chasing victory and protecting the joys of the game.

Inspired by his own childhood, Pino said, “The Ditch is an ode to finding friendship and a love of The Beautiful Game in ruleless, unorganized spaces like streets, backyards, and even ditches. Soccer has the power to unite people from all walks of life and across the globe. In the 90s, as the love of soccer grew in the U.S., it became a shared language between my immigrant father and me, giving us common ground and a sense of home during a time when I was navigating life as a ten-year-old ‘shrimp,’ finding my place in America.”

The Ditch is produced by Bennett Skupp, Brad Rose, and Zach Roth of SCRN Studio, alongside Patrick McErlean of McLeahy Films, Emma Steele and Marcos Sotelo. Richard J. Bosner of Blue Creek Pictures exec produced, with Charlotte Gilbert and Rosemary Lombard serving as co-producers.

In film, Benanti’s credits include Everything’s Going to Be Great, Kinda Pregnant, Goodrich, No Hard Feelings, and tick, tick… BOOM!. Perhaps better known for roles on shows like Life & Beth, Gossip Girl, Younger, The Detour, Supergirl and Nashville, she is repped by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment, and Schreck Rose Dapello.

Known for his work on series like Station 19 and Vida, Miranda has also been seen in films like The Bling Ring and Warrior. He is repped by Buchwald, Luber Roklin, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

Set to recur coming up on Prime Video’s Criminal, Diamantopoulos has been seen on shows like Silicon Valley, Pantheon, Mrs. Davis and The Sticky. Notable film credits include The Boys in the Boat, Red Notice and The Three Stooges. He is repped by Paradigm, Untitled, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

Briefly seen playing a young Lyle Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Rodriguez is repped by DDO Artists Agency and Thruline Entertainment.

Pino is a Chilean-American filmmaker whose debut film, Bosco, a music-driven prison drama starring Tyrese Gibson, Vivica A. Fox, Theo Rossi, Aubrey Joseph, and Thomas Jane, was released as a Peacock Original in February 2024.