“Selma” is coming to our theater screens Jan. 15, but if you’re the former President of the United States, you get the right to see this already critically acclaimed film early.
former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush were able to screen the film with their guests including family, friends, members of Bush’s secret service team, local politicians and the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family – Literacy Dec. 9 thanks to Paramount Pictures. The advance screening of the film not only reviews the hardships and civil rights fights that happened back in the day, but reflects the unfortunate events – the unjust killings of unarmed black men–that are happening in today’s society.
“’Selma’ magnificently recreates the strong emotions felt across our nation, vividly taking us back to when Martin Luther King, Jr. led the civil rights movement,” said Bush. “Together, the filmmakers and cast not only captured the pain and conflict of that challenging time, but also how far we have come as a society – and, in so doing, reminded us how the freedom to protest peacefully and the power of human spirit make America so great.”
“Selma” is directed by Ava DuVernay, the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe. The film stars David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Other stars include Tom Wilkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Giovanni Ribisi, Alessandro Nivola, Carmen Ejogo, Common, Lorraine Toussaint, Tim Roth and Oprah Winfrey.
“SELMA is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s SELMA tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.”
