THIS year's Oscar nominations are hot off the Hollywood presses today and up for Best Picture is the Martin Luther King biopic SELMA.
The film, produced by Oprah Winfrey and starring British actor David Oyelowo, tracks a dangerous and terrifying three month campaign led by King which culminated in the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The campaign galvanized American public opinion and persuaded President Lyndon Johnson to introduce the Voting Rights Act, protecting Africa-Americans’ right to vote.
All highly relevant, all highly anticipated.
UK audiences will see SELMA when it goes on general release in a fortnight (Friday February 5) but if you can't wait and want to feel special or something, there is an exclusive preview screening this Monday at FACT's Picturehouse to mark Martin Luther KIng Day (January 19).
Those who book tickets for the event will be entered into a draw to win a trip for two to New York. Opening with King collecting his Nobel Peace Prize, the film swiftly moves to the bombing of an Alabama church and the dignified attempts of a local resident (Winfrey) to register to vote.
As its title suggests, SELMA focuses on the city that King chose as pivotal to his efforts to persuade President Johnson (John Wilkinson) to grant voting rights for all, a battle that proved bitter and often bloody. Carmen Ejogo as King’s equally determined wife Coretta Scott King, Tim Roth as racist governor George Wallace, and Cuba Gooding Jnr shine amongst an extensive, well-drawn cast of characters,
*SELMA exclusive screening, Picturehouse at FACT, Monday January 19, 6.30pm. Tickets, £10 plus fees, available here.
