THE MOViE
THE TRUE STORY OF HOPE
The year is 1993.
REV. ROGER MINASSIAN (52) and his wife, MARILYN MINASSIAN (48) drive through the ghetto of southeast Fresno, its walls tagged with graffiti and yards littered with trash. This neighborhood was once home to generations of Armenians, most of whom moved out long ago.
Now the neighborhood belongs to REYNALDO ESQUIVEL (17) and JOHNNY HURTADO (16), members of the Los Muertos gang, who beat and rob an elderly woman in her own home as her teenage granddaughter cowers in fear. While fleeing from this robbery, Reynaldo trips over a bicycle in the yard. He picks up a baseball bat lying on the ground, smashes the bike into pieces, and then not watching where he is going, runs straight into the Minassians’ car.
Reynaldo menacingly points the bat at Roger, taunting him to get out of his car,
and when Roger doesn’t move, Reynaldo violently smashes the bat into the
hood. He then walks purposefully to the driver’s side and smashes the
windshield.
Gang violence is out of control. Something has to be done.
Inspired by the book GANGS TO JOBS by Reverend Roger Minassian,
the award-winning screenplay FINDING HOPE NOW was written.
SCREENPLAY AWARDS
First Place - Global Art Film Festival
First Place - Revolution Media Screenplay Contest
Finalist - Sound Heritage National Screenplay Contest
Finalist - The Writers Place Screenplay Contest
Finalist - Moondance International Film Festival
Semi-Finalist - Templeton Foundation Kairos Prize
This screenplay portrays what great things can happen to a community when a person like the Reverend Roger Minassian reaches for his dream and steps out of his comfort zone to transform the lives of over fifteen hundred gang members forever.
It is also the story of Santos, a gang member, who at age 16 is becoming a father. He has little hope. His future is either prison or death.
The life-changing relationship between Santos and Roger is a story that must be told.
This film is about taking risk, embracing change, overcoming the impossible, and finding hope. It is written to capture the interest of the entire family.
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