Impact Media Options Thomas G. Begnal’s “Freedom Ride”
Montreal — November 5, 2025 — Impact Media (IMPFM) has optioned “Freedom Ride,” an original screenplay by Thomas G. Begnal inspired by the events surrounding the Freedom Riders during the segregation era. Impact is developing the project for the screen with François Garcia and Frank Desmarais set to produce.
“Freedom Ride” (Drama/Coming-of-age) follows two 21-year-old college students in May 1961 — a white man and a Black woman — who drive from New England to the Deep South so he can visit his father in Florida and she, a reporter for her college newspaper, can cover the arrival of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama. Along the way they confront the brutality of Jim Crow, are swept into a violent mob attack when the Riders reach Alabama, and — despite everything — fall in love.
The feature will weave a personal, coming-of-age road story with a pivotal chapter of American history, exploring courage, conscience, and connection against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement. The project is currently in development; additional attachments and production details will be announced at a later date.
Activists singing “We Shall Overcome,” June 1964, from The Fire Next Time (Taschen), by James Baldwin, with photographs by Steve Schapiro
About Impact Media (IMPFM)
Impact Media is a film, television, documentary, and live-events production company based in Montreal with projects spanning investigative nonfiction and scripted features. The company develops, produces, and partners across the full lifecycle — from development through distribution — on high-involvement, culturally resonant stories.