HIS BROTHER’S KEEPER
FEATURE FILM PROPOSAL
A coming-of-age story, set against the tumultuous social changes of America’s 1960s. As the events of one defining summer unfold, two teenage best friends begin their transition into adulthood, each choosing different paths but leading both to a dramatic and life altering moment.
Address professional inquiries about the film to George Cawood.
HIS BROTHER’S KEEPER
His Brother’s Keeper is the coming-of-age story of two 16-year-old boys on the California coast, 1963. When we meet Eddie Henley and Gene Taylor, they’ve not yet lost their innocence, still absorbed in body-surfing, fast cars, and a seething social landscape, content to spend their days at the beach, and their nights drag-racing, chasing girls, and party-hopping to the sounds of the Beach Boys and The Kingsmen.
Yet one fateful night Eddie and Gene find themselves thrust headlong into a violent new order of racial conflict, police corruption, and murder. Caught between the violent truth of a police cover-up, to which he is the sole witness, and the expectations of the rural society he’s always known, Eddie discovers the depths of his own insecurity and jealousy as he competes for Gene’s loyalty.
His Brother’s Keeper explores the Shakespearean fate of two young men played out as a crisis of conscience as the boys choose dramatically different paths. Under what forces can a boy remain his brother’s keeper? Who will pay the price when these forces come to a head?
Origins of the Film
Lance Mason was introduced to George Cawood by their mutual friend Gary Byrne, who had worked with George on Homecoming, a documentary on the health and vitality of selected orphanages in the US. Gary had read an early version of The Killing of Chuy Muro, and believed it was rich material for a feature film. George agreed and got in touch with the author, and slowly, slowly the cinema project has evolved to its current status: Sunburn, a short film to demonstrate the worth of George’s and his colleagues’ skills in developing Mason’s story on film.
Address professional inquiries about the film to George Cawood.
