WHO’S IN IT?
David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher), Tom Wilkinson (Belle), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs), Common (Wanted), Carmen Ejogo (Away We Go), Lorraine Toussaint (The Soloist), Oprah Winfrey (The Colour Purple), Cuba Gooding Jr (Jerry Maguire), Niecy Nash (G-Force), Colman Domingo (42), Giovanni Ribisi (Ted), Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle), Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12), Andre Holland (Black or White), Tessa Thompson (Dear White People), Wendell Pierce (The Wire), Omar Dorsey (The Blind Side), Ledisi (Leatherheads), Trai Byers (Jayhawkers), Stephan James (Home Again), Kent Faulcon (American Beauty), John Lavelle (NCIS), Henry G. Sanders (Rocky Balboa), Jeremy Strong (The Judge), Dylan Baker (Spider-Man 2), Nigel Thatch (L.A Twister), Charity Jordan (film debut), Haviland Stillwell (Birthday Cake), Tara Ochs (Life As We Know It), Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now), Michael Shikany (Taken 3), Michael Papajohn (Nightcrawler)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Ava DuVernay (Middle of Nowhere), director; Paul Webb (film debut), writer; Christian Colson (Slumdog Millionaire), Dede Gardner (12 Years A Slave), Jeremy Kleiner (World War Z) and Oprah Winfrey (The Hundred-Foot Journey), producers; Bradford Young (A Most Violent Year), cinematographer; Spencer Averick (I Will Follow), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Over three months in 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (Oyelowo) leads a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The ensuing march from Alabama county Selma to capital Montgomery resulted in President Lyndon Johnson (Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
The story of one of the 20th century’s most influential figures is brought to shining light through Ava DuVernay’s tight direction and David Oyelowo’s commanding performance, and casts an unfortunate shadow in light of today’s controversial acts of racially-motivated police brutality in the United States.
