The Phoenix
The Phoenix is a dramatic feature film project that explores the remarkable true-life story of Harold Dennis--a young man who pulled himself away from a tragic, transforming moment and revived his life with moving courage and inspiring vigor.
We explore Harold's dramatic journey toward wholeness and self-esteem after surviving a 1988 bus crash near Carrolton, KY, in which a drunk driver rammed into a bus full of kids killing 27 out of 67 on board (the worst drunk-driving accident in U.S. History)
Harold, a young teenager at the time, not only had to confront the loss of his lifelong friend (who perished sitting next to him on the bus) but also the powerful fears that he would never find a girl or return to his life as an athlete.
Despite his disfiguring scars and survivor guilt, Harold not only finds true love with a beautiful young woman, but a few years later he gets national headlines when he makes the University of Kentucky football team as a walk-on. As Coach Bill Curry said, "Harold Dennis has a brutal situation, but the brutal situation doesn't have Harold."
Harold won the Gene Autry and Arete Courage Awards, the latter presented by Evander Holyfield and Ahmad Rashad. His story was prominently featured on ESPN, CBS This Morning, People Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
At once a powerful coming-of-age sports drama and a moving love story, The Phoenix brings vividly to life the fascinating odyssey of how one young man's near-death catastrophe turns into a courageous life-sustaining quest.