SUPPORT YN’S: Young & Notorious - THE MOVIE
We’re raising funds to bring our independent feature film, YN’s (Young & Notorious), to life, a raw, poetic, and deeply spiritual story that confronts the realities of street life, brotherhood, and the unseen war between light and darkness. This is not your typical crime film. YN’s weaves gritty urban realism with haunting metaphysical layers, following a group of young men in South Central Los Angeles as they chase a way out of poverty only to find themselves hunted, broken, and haunted by the choices they make.
At the center of this story is a character named Malcolm, a brilliant, sensitive, and often-overlooked member of the crew, who is tragically killed in the rise of the gang’s criminal path. But death isn’t the end for him it’s the beginning. Malcolm becomes a spirit, narrating the film from the afterlife under the name Mal Casso. As he walks the line between angel and demon, his voiceovers guide the audience through a spiritual mirror of the world the boys live in one filled with ancestral presence, inner conflict, and unseen forces. He watches over his brothers, tries to steer them, and unknowingly becomes a vessel of vengeance as a dark entity named Samael pushes him deeper into his own rage.
The crew is led by Xavier Busch (X), a young man caught between leadership and desperation, doing what he must to provide and protect especially for Ace, his 16-year-old little brother who’s slowly being dragged into the life. Alongside them are J.R., sharp and emotionally conflicted, and D-Lo, the muscle with a heart, who acts like a big brother to Ace when X is slipping. These characters are complex, flawed, and deeply human drawn into a series of heists and confrontations that spiral toward an explosive end.
And while the streets may be loud, the spirit world speaks too. X’s deceased grandmother, a former church mother, appears throughout the film as an angelic figure praying over the boys, warning them in visions, and battling for their souls in silence. Her presence adds a layer of generational memory, cultural faith, and divine resistance to the film.
Why do we care about making YN’s? Because these stories matter. Because too many films exploit the pain of Black and Brown communities without offering truth, nuance, or soul. This film doesn’t glorify the streets it mourns them, questions them, and exposes them as systems of survival where young men become statistics, martyrs, or myths. I care deeply because I’ve lived parts of this story, lost people to it, and now I’m using my voice as a filmmaker to honor them.
My name is Roman Armstrong, and I’m a writer-director, editor, and creator dedicated to telling stories that are both grounded and transcendent. I believe art can reveal what society hides. I believe in storytelling that doesn’t just entertain but leaves something behind in the viewer a question, a feeling, a shift. I’ve spent years developing this project, pulling from real conversations, lost friends, childhood memories, and spiritual truths. This film is not just about what happens on screen it’s about healing what we carry off screen.
We plan to execute YN’s through an efficient and focused production model. We've broken the film into phases, built a committed cast and crew, and designed a story that maximizes emotion over expensive spectacle. The funds raised will go directly toward securing key locations in LA, safe and legal stunt coordination, authentic costume and production design, and quality post-production work especially for sound design and our haunting spiritual sequences. We also intend to pay our young, predominantly Black and Brown cast and crew fairly, giving opportunities to voices that rarely get access to the big screen.
This is more than a film. YN’s is a cinematic prayer. A ghost story about the living. A warning and a love letter. With your help, we can turn this into a powerful, unforgettable experience one that resonates far beyond the screen. We invite you to be part of the legacy. Let’s make history. Let’s make YN’s.
