Sycamore Pictures announced today that Academy Award® Winner Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious, Trial by Fire) has signed on to pen I Am a Man, which is based on Michael K. Honey’s book, Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign. Sycamore Pictures’ Ben Nearn and Tom Rice are producing, and have been developing the project since its inception, along with their Director of Development Andrew Terhune. I Am a Man is a passion project for the Sycamore Pictures team, who are rapidly ramping up their development slate with films focused on stories that address social justice, redemption, reconciliation, and the human condition.
I Am a Man takes place in 1968 Memphis, where longstanding tensions between exploited black sanitation workers and white city officials erupt into a revolutionary 65-day strike that draws the media, the National Guard, and Martin Luther King Jr. to the city, where he was martyred shaping a movement that carries on to this day.
Sycamore Pictures’ Tom Rice and Ben Nearn said: “We feel this film is culturally relevant and vitally important in today’s climate. I Am a Man exposes the long history of racial inequality, paternalism, and economic injustice in this country, that unfortunately continues today.”
“In my opinion, some of the best stories combine well-known history with the unknown history surrounding it,” says Fletcher. “This is one of those stories. It is an honor to work on a project of such significance. In these desperate and divided times, this is a story of genuine superheroes.”