How’s this storyline for the next Netflix blockbuster: “An idealistic young mayor puts his personal and political future on the line to save his beloved city from chronic violence”?

That’s the filmmakers’ description of their new documentary about Brandon M. Scott, filmed during the 2020 mayoral campaign and his first year in office as he sought a holistic approach to reducing gun violence.

Titled “The Body Politic,” the 90-minute film will debut this week at the Sheffield Doc Fest in England. Its North American premier will take place on Father’s Day (June 18) at the DC/DOX festival in Washington.

It is unclear when the film will make its way to Baltimore.

Mayor Scott is scheduled to be in Sheffield on opening night this Thursday (June 15), according to the festival’s website.

He will be present to address the audience during a post-showing Q&A, together with the film’s director and producer.

Undisclosed Trip

Travel rules, approved by Scott in 2021 in the wake of Brew articles and an inspector general investigation of extensive travel by former State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, call on local elected officials to disclose travel outside of the continental United States to the Board of Estimates.

The revised rules also require that $100 worth of travel paid by third parties – or $800 of travel paid jointly by the city and third parties – be disclosed to the BOE, printed in its public agenda and secure approval from the board.

• New travel rules approved as Marilyn Mosby haunts a Board of Estimates meeting (6/9/21)

Scott’s trip to England has not been divulged in recent BOE agendas or pre-approved by the spending board.

Scott’s trip to England has not been disclosed in recent BOE agendas or pre-approved by the spending board. Nor has it been mentioned in a press release or as part of Scott’s public schedule issued by his communications office.

The Brew has queried the mayor’s communications director, Bryan Doherty, about the trip, asking who is paying and what days the mayor will be out of the country.

There has been no response from Doherty so far.

“Audacity to dream”

The film is directed by Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough, a camera assistant on “The Wire” and other shows who says he is “passionate about crafting documentaries that challenge conventional narratives about people from places like his hometown.” It is produced by Dawne Langford.

“The Body Politic” begins around the time Scott wins the June 2020 Democratic primary just before the George Floyd protests.

The film “captures Scott in action, whether he’s tackling press conferences, dealing with a variety of political opponents or spending time with Baltimore’s residents and groups with a vested interest in saving their city,” says the promotional material.

Then it moves into his first year in office, noting that “barely getting a chance to enact his first safety reforms, violence surges to new highs.”

The young mayor’s commitment to his principles is put to the test “as the media and political foes attack his holistic approach.”

How all this gets resolved is not revealed by online sources, but Scott’s “audacity to dream that his commitment to healing a fractured yet resilient city” is praised by Goodenough as “a harbinger of hope in a country plagued by gun violence.”