LOGLINE
In 1965 Alabama, a young seminarian’s faith collides with the fight for justice — and conviction itself becomes a matter of life and death. Instead of retelling the Civil Rights Movement as history, Inextricably Bound drops us into its heat, its doubt, and the moments when every step toward justice demands everything.

SUMMARY
Inextricably Bound tells the true story of Jonathan Daniels, a young Episcopal seminarian who travels to Selma in 1965 hoping to help — and instead finds himself transformed by the Black activists who risk everything to claim their dignity. Told through the eyes of Stokely Carmichael — whose early skepticism of Jonathan slowly hardens into unexpected respect — the film reframes the Civil Rights Movement through intimate, human connection.Jonathan forms close bonds with Ruby Sales, a brilliant teenager wise beyond her years, and Rachel West, a mother who shelters him while living under constant threat. Stokely himself becomes the emotional arc of the film: watching Jonathan, judging him, resisting him — and ultimately honoring him.What begins as a march becomes a moral reckoning, culminating in Jonathan’s real-life act of sacrificial courage in Hayneville. Inextricably Bound is a visceral portrait of allyship, conscience, and the quiet choices that define a life — a story of two men who discover, too late, that they were fighting the same fight.

"The secret of life is to have no fear.” — Kwame TureWHY THIS FILM AND WHY NOW?
Inextricably Bound isn’t a period piece — it’s a mirror. Jonathan Daniels’ search for courage in 1965 Alabama echoes questions we wrestle with today:What does moral action look like?
Who stands up when it costs something?
How do ordinary people find grace in the storm?Jonathan’s answer began in the smallest moments — like the day a little girl he’d been living with cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, breaking through every barrier of fear and suspicion. That quiet gesture changed him. It’s a reminder that justice doesn’t begin in courtrooms or capitals — it begins in the human spirit.And the truth of 1965 hasn’t faded. The struggle for equality is not distant history. It is a living, present choice, shaped by the courage we summon in the moments that matter.TONE & COMPARABLE FILMS
An intimate, character-driven historical drama built for powerful performances and awards-season attention — a story defined by conscience, human connection, and the personal choices that bend history.Comparable films:
• 12 Years a Slave – emotional truth with historical weight
• If Beale Street Could Talk – lyrical, human-centered storytelling
• Rustin – moral courage and overlooked figures reshaping a movement
• Worth – a quiet exploration of conscience, sacrifice, and duty
• Selma – historical urgency and spiritual power, but on a more intimate scale

Recognition• The Black List — Score: 8 (2024)
• Finish Line — Semi-Finalist (2025)
• Austin Film Festival — Second Rounder (2025)
• The Golden Script Competition — Semifinalist (2025)
• RIIFF — Semifinalist
• Nostos Screenwriting Residency — Selected (2023)Selected Coverage PraiseCoverage Ink
“A powerful, emotionally resonant script with strong commercial hooks. Stokely Carmichael’s arc offers a fresh angle on familiar material.”Script Reader Pro
"Exploring Stokely Carmichael’s journey from skeptic to believer in Jonathan’s sacrifice creates a powerful emotional arc that stayed with me long after I finished reading."

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About Jonathan DanielsJonathan Myrick Daniels was a 26-year-old Episcopal seminarian from Keene, New Hampshire. In 1965, he answered Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to join the Civil Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama. After months of marches, arrests, and quiet acts of service, he was released from jail following a protest in Hayneville. Minutes later, he was shot and killed while shielding a teenage girl, Ruby Sales.His death shocked the nation and galvanized support for the Voting Rights Act. In 1991, the Episcopal Church recognized him as a modern martyr.

About Stokely CarmichaelIn 1965, Stokely Carmichael was a 23-year-old SNCC organizer — brilliant, razor-sharp, and beginning to question the limits of nonviolence. That summer, he formed an unlikely friendship with Jonathan Daniels, a young White seminarian whose quiet courage broke through Stokely’s deep skepticism. Jonathan’s death would become one of the moments that shaped Stokely’s evolving view of the Movement and of the sacrifices it demanded.

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