KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN

Written by Rj Joseph & Terry Haskell

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IN BRIEF:

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN chronicles twenty years in the life of African American Willie Jackson, from a talented young golf caddie growing up in segregated Georgia to a troubled Vietnam War hero returning to a changed America, and finally, as the extraordinary golfer he was meant to be.

SYNOPSIS:

Bright sunshine bathes a pristine Georgia golf course. The slow arc of a 1-wood connects with a Top-Flight golf ball, launching it skyward with a thunderous crack. The sound merges with the loud swoosh of an artillery flare, and we’re suddenly transported to the darkness of a Vietnam jungle.

It’s August 11, 1969, and WILLIE JACKSON, a nineteen-year-old African American soldier, lies wounded amidst the aftermath of a horrific firefight. His unit’s sole survivor, Willie, will eventually be captured by the insurgent Vietcong and forced to spend the next five years in gruesome conditions as an unsanctioned POW.

Before his captors discover him, he slips into unconsciousness, dreaming of his childhood in Georgia. It’s nine years earlier as we watch ten-year-old Willie swan dive into a clear blue pond, determined to retrieve as many water-trapped golf balls as he can to sell outside a nearby country club.

The boy’s natural ambition and smarts catch the eye of THE GENERAL. Ignoring his club’s segregation policy with impunity, the formidable patron hires Willie as his caddie, sparking the boy’s passion for the game and fascination with the wisdom it reveals about life.

From 1960 to 1977, against the backdrop of monumental shifts in American sentiment about patriotism, government, and civil rights, Willie navigates his way through a racist South and a tormented, anguished Vietnam. All the while, he tries to balance the love, convictions, good intentions, and grave mistakes of two very different paternal figures: The powerful white General and LEWIS, Willie’s own “Pa,” whose views have been shaped by a lifetime of pain and racism.

During this era of immense challenges and great awakenings, Willie must confront the complexities of Truth, Heroism, and Family. To survive, he relies on what he learned on that Georgia golf course years before. Shedding both idealism and cynicism, Willie at last accepts his unique circumstances, reignites his passions, and embraces life as the complicated, chaotic wonder that it is.

Awards:

Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards March 2026 Competition – Semi-Finalist

Coverfly Top 1% in Genre/Format

Finalist, Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition 2025

Finalist, Diversity – Big Break 2024