Hollywood star Anthony Mackie is set to make his directorial debut with upcoming feature film Spark. According to Deadline, the movie will feature King Richard star Saniyya Sidney as Claudette Colvin, an unsung pioneer of the Civil Rights era.

The film will follow the exploits of Colvin who, at the age of 15, bravely stood up to racism, being arrested after refusing to give up her seat on a crowded segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks became a symbol of the Civil Rights era symbol for courageously doing the same thing.

Initially embraced by Civil Rights leaders for her courage, Colvin was brushed out of history when those same civic leaders decided a poor, dark-skinned teenage girl would not be the ideal face for their public campaign.

Niceole R Levy, who worked with Mackie on the 2020 film The Banker, is writing the screenplay for the project, which is a co-production between Make it with Gravy Productions, Mansa Productions, Mandalay Pictures in Association with Ambergreen Entertainment.

Mackie said that he got to know about Colvin during a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and he felt her story needed to be told after all these years.

“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 honoured to tell her story,” he added.

Colvin, 82, said, “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.”

She hoped that her life story would inspire youth to continue to fight for civil rights and human dignity.

Mackie most recently starred in Rupert Wyatt-directed Desert Warrior as well as Marvel Studios series Falcon and the Winter Soldier, in which he reprised his MCU role of Sam Wilson aka Falcon. The actor will next star in Captain America 4.

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