Having secured the shield for the next big-screen Captain America outing, Anthony Mackie is turning his attention towards making his own feature-film with the news that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier star is set to make his directorial debut with Spark, a Civil Rights drama starring King Richard breakout Saniyya Sidney.
According to Deadline’s exclusive, Saniyya Sidney will play Claudette Colvin, an unsung Civil Rights pioneer who stood up to racism, getting arrested after refusing to give up her seat on a crowded segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. As will as directing, Mackie will produce along with Kellon Akeem, Jason Michael Berman and Marc Ambrose.
Erased from history when Rosa Parks did the same thing nine months later, Mackie discovered her story on a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and felt her story needed to be told, saying “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.”
Colvin, who is now 82 years of age, said of Sparks “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. It is really an honor to have my story retold, by Mr. Mackie, for future generations to learn about our past so they can move forward knowing that progress is possible, and things do get better. I hope my story will inspire youth to continue to fight for civil rights and human dignity.”
Mackie is currently shooting Rupert Wyatt’s action film Desert Warrior, while Saniyya Sidney builds on her excellent performance in King Richard by playing Sasha Obama in the Viola Davis led TV-series The First Lady.
