Victim of racial hatred in 1955, Emmett Till is at the heart of a poignant biopic, in cinemas on February 8. The opportunity for the director Chinonye Chukwu to make known this tragic destiny and the fight of a mother. Trailer.
After the heartbreaking Clemency, crowned with the Grand Prix at the 2019 Sundance festival, the Nigerian director Chinonye Chukwu is back. And this in a biopic that will certainly mark the beginning of the year 2023: Emmett Till.
A true martyr for African-American communities, having inspired Aimé Césaire as much as Harper Lee, Emmett Till is a Chicago child murdered in 1955 in the most brutal of ways, for having bothered a white woman. More than sixty years later, his name still resounds in the songs of Melody Gardot, Eric Bibb or Emmylou Harris. And if his tragic story remains famous, that of his mother commands admiration.
A young widow, Mamie Till-Mobley was the only black woman to work for the US Air Force in Chicago. Upon learning of the assassination of her son, she moved heaven and earth to alert public opinion to the brutality of the crime and to denounce the hatred of which blacks were victims. Far from being satisfied with the international emotion created by the affair, she courageously committed herself to the fight against racism and the defense of civil rights for African-Americans.
Chinonye Chukwu has therefore decided to bring to the big screen the terrible social and human drama, but also the extraordinary destiny of this mother, in this double biopic which takes the features of a portrait of a committed and inspiring woman.
Mamie Till-Mobley is played with passion by Danielle Deadwyler, who offers a poignant and memorable performance. And that’s not all, since the unforgettable June of the Watchmen series gives the reply to Whoopi Goldberg and Frankie Faison, among others. See you on February 8 at the cinema.