A poignant yet inspiring true story about allyship, justice and how groups of activists from disparate backgrounds have worked together in the quest to dismantle institutional racism, documentary feature A Crime on the Bayou will open in select theaters nationwide June 18, 2021 from Shout! Studios.
Written and directed by Nancy Buirski (The Loving Story, The Rape of Rey Taylor), this eye-opening documentary had its world premiere at the 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival and is the third film in director's trilogy profiling brave individuals who fought for justice in and around the Civil Rights era. Executive produced by Mike Jackson, John Legend, Ty Stiklorius and Austyn Biggers of Get Lifted Film Co and Regina K. Scully, Geralyn Dreyfous, Harlene Freezer, Jules Horowitz, Felicia Horowitz, Brenda Robinson, Amy Tiemann, Mark Trustin and Jamie Wolf. The film also features a new original song, My Path written and performed by Raphael Saadiq.
A Crime on the Bayou is the story of Gary Duncan, a Black teenager from Plaquemines Parish, a swampy strip of land south of New Orleans. In 1966, Duncan tries to break up an argument between white and Black teenagers outside a newly integrated school. He gently lays his hand on a white boy's arm. The boy recoils like a snake. That night, police burst into Duncan's trailer and arrest him for assault on a minor. A young Jewish attorney, Richard Sobol, leaves his prestigious D.C. firm to volunteer in New Orleans. With his help, Duncan bravely stands up to a racist legal system powered by a white supremacist boss to challenge his unfair arrest. Their fight goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and their lifelong friendship is forged. See the trailer at the link above.
