According to Deadline, Anthony Mackie will make his directorial debut with a new film on civil rights icon Claudette Colvin.
Spark, a new film, will chronicle the story of Claudette Colvin, a little-known hero who was instrumental in sparking the civil rights movement. Colvin was only 15 years old when, nine months before Rosa Parks, she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, for a white passenger. While Parks became the movement’s face, Colvin’s achievements were mostly forgotten until lately, when people like Mackie, who were determined to call her name, resurrected her. As a result, Colvin is finally getting her long-awaited roses, as well as having her juvenile record expunged.
Mackie, who found Colvin’s tale while visiting the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, believed it needed to be conveyed, and has tried to get the life rights to Colvin’s story as well as the rights to Phillip Hoose’s book Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. Make it with Gravy Productions, Mansa Productions, Mandalay Pictures in Association with Ambergreen Entertainment will co-produce the picture, which will be written by Niceole R. Levy, who previously collaborated with Mackie on The Banker.
“Not only was I moved, I was inspired. It’s great to be a superhero in movies but she’s a real live one living amongst us and I’m honored to tell her story,” said Mackie.
This will be Mackie’s directorial debut, and Saniyya Sidney has already been cast as Colvin. Sidney is coming off a breakout performance as Venus Williams in King Richard, for which she has earned a lot of praise. In Showtime’s The First Lady, starring Viola Davis, the young actress will play Sasha Obama. Along with Kellon Akeem, Jason Michael Berman, and Marc Ambrose, Mackie will produce the film.
Colvin spoke about the film saying, “67 years ago, when history glued me to the seat of that bus in Montgomery, I could never have imagined that standing up for my rights could spark a movement that would change the course of history.”
There’s no news on when Spark will be released, but it’s already on our must-see list!
