Mumbai: Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson will helm the film Brother Jack for Columbia Pictures.

Brother Jack based on the life of human rights activist Jack Healey, is the coming of age story of an idealist who leaves the priesthood for a life on the streets and successfully wages a one man war to elevate the issue of human rights. The screenplay is being written by Harley Peyton, with a current rewrite by Kelly Masterson. The film will be produced by Mosaic and Jack Healey.

Healey is the world-renowned human rights activist and pioneer. An effective and innovative leader in the human rights movement for over 25 years, Healey helped move the topic of human rights from closed-door diplomatic negotiations to widespread awareness, public debate, and direct citizen action. Colleagues credit him with making human rights a major focus of governments, advocacy organization, and individuals around the world.

Called “Mr. Human Rights” by U.S. News and World Report, Healey brought human rights to the global stage by his creative use of media and enlistment of world-class musical talent as advocates and spokespersons as Executive Director of Amnesty International USA for 12 years. He currently heads the Human Rights Action Network, a non-profit based out of Washington, D.C. Using the arts and new technologies, and the organization works creatively to develop new strategies to stop human rights abuses. Healey’s goals include spreading awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, restoring Aung San Suu Kyi to power in Burma, creating innovative, forceful, effective solutions to assist victims in protecting themselves, supporting growing human rights groups all over the world, and creating a fund to get people out of harm’s way in human rights abuse cases.