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Blackbird

BLACKBIRD is a film about a troubled teen who is falsely accused of planning a Columbine shooting scenario.

It all begins when an unlikely bond forms between SEAN RANDALL (Connor Jessup) and a preppy teenage girl named DEANNA ROY (Alexia Fast). Deanna’s boyfriend is deeply threatened by Sean and Deanna’s friendship, resulting in a violent confrontation. Seeking to protect himself, Sean issues a death threat online, and is swiftly arrested. When the police raid Sean’s home, they find rifles, shotguns, knives and ammunition – all property of Sean’s father RICKY (Michael Buie), an avid hunter. They also find a sup- posed “revenge plan” targeting over twenty people who have tormented Sean. The authorities and the media proclaim another Columbine situation has been narrowly averted, and soon Sean faces a terrifying imprisonment in a youth detention facility. Sean’s only hope is to overcome his dark image, and prove his innocence to Deanna and to his community.

Denied bail, Sean must endure Waterville, one of the toughest youth prisons in the country. Faced with bureaucratic delays and escalating abuse from TREVOR (Alex Ozerov), a sadistic and deeply troubled youth in the same cell block, Sean relents to the advice of his lawyer and pleads guilty to get released on time served. Once released, Sean is ordered to stay away from most kids in town, including Deanna. He changes his clothes, his disposition, everything that he can to fit in and be a “normal” part of society, but is permanently branded a psychopath. Sean quickly discovers the lengths a small town will go to keep this label stamped upon him.

BLACKBIRD is a film that explores the power, and the danger, of social media and cyber-bullying, while showing that the worst prisons are often the ones we create for ourselves.