X Marks the Spot
Written by Mason Greer
Story by Mason Greer, Kacie Rogers
Three siblings tasked with settlings their grandfather's affairs after his passing find shocking evidence that suggests he was the real killer of Malcolm X. Now they have 90 minutes to uncover the validity of this information and decide what they're going to do with it before the rest of the family arrives for the wake.
TONE
X Marks the Spot skillfully blends humor, self awareness and family conflict reminiscent in the recently released American Fiction, with gripping courtroom drama intensity like Twelve Angry Men. Striking a delicate balance, our comedic moments won't be mere laughs but genuine reactions from characters navigating the most stressful day of their lives.
AVERY
Avery, currently engaged in a city council reelection campaign, stumbles upon compelling evidence implicating her grandfather as the actual perpetrator in Malcolm X's case. Faced with the prospect of jeopardizing her political career, she chooses a path of deception, manipulation, and conflict with her siblings to safeguard her reputation. Avery staunchly opposes disclosing the information to the public, casting her decisive vote with a resolute "No."
AUGUST
August is a political activist falling into financial ruin. After returning home to take care of his grandfather during the last few months of his life, he develops a much stronger relationship with him than the rest of his siblings. Because of this kinship, August doesn’t initially believe the rumors of his grandfather as quickly as his siblings do. He believes he’s “innocent until proven guilty” and will continue to vote “NO” until one of his siblings can prove otherwise.
Morgan followed in her family’s footsteps as a writer before being kicked out of a prestigious writer’s workshop in her early years for trying to write about the unfiltered version of her grandfather. After Avery was trusted with an early draft of this book, she quickly informs their grandfather of Morgan’s ”betrayal” and gets her kicked out of the workshop, damaging her reputation and career forever. To get back at Avery and their grandfather, Morgan will vote “Yes” creating a hung jury until one of her siblings can convince her that he isn’t the real killer.
MORGAN
ANIMATION
Although this movie is a single location live action film, it does utilize strategically placed animated segments that help narrate events in the past. The animation style will vary based on who is narrating these events which will give us further insight into the differences between our protagonists.
WHY NOW?
This film's main theme is accountability especially pertaining to the black community. We've seen a lot of legends from this community go down recently, Bill Cosby, R Kelley and most recently P Diddy, just to name a few. This film puts a light up to how far people are willing to go to protect their icons.
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Additionally there is a movement to reopening the Malcolm X case, this film tie in, although not looking to help solve the case directly, could help smooth over harsh feelings towards any descendants with familial links to the crime.
Check out our links below where you can read the first 10 pages of the script, view our comic book tie in for the film and donate to our festival fellowship submission campaign.
