A film about the life and death of Emmett Till – the 14-year-old whose gruesome lynching in 1955 helped galvanize the civil rights movement – had been in the works for decades before it found its way to Chinonye Chukwu, but all it took was an empowering thumbs up from James Bond film franchise producer Barbara Broccoli to convince her to take on the task.
Chukwu was just premiering her 2019 film as writer-director “Clemency”Broccoli approached Chukwu about a new project. Three years later, Chukwu recalled Broccoli’s 10 “magic words”This sealed the deal. “‘You can take this in whatever creative direction you want.’”
Granted full artistic license, she chose Emmett’s mother Mamie Till Mobley as the film’s narrative vessel, and thus “Till”The birth of the first child.
“The story I was interested in telling is the person who was responsible for telling this story,” Chukwu said of the mother’s viewpoint during a virtual event on July 21.
Till Mobley refused to endure her son’s historic death in silence, insisting on an open-coffin funeral so that people would have to bear witness to what he had suffered. She took her demands for justice all over the country and taught for the rest of her life.
In a trailer shown during the virtual event, Till Mobley, as played by Danielle Deadwyler, channels her trauma into public speaking engagements and testifying at the trial of Emmett’s (Jalyn Hall) killers. There are also sequences that show the love they shared over his short life and the devastation caused by his death.
Centering on Till Mobley’s emotional journey was one of two “non-negotiables”Chukwu provided the following information for producers. The other was that the film wouldn’t depict the physical brutality committed against the real young man.
“I don’t want to traumatize or re-trauamtize audiences or myself,”She elaborated. “We don’t need to see it to understand or get a sense of the horror that happened.”
Chukwu, however, added depth through a “very intense research journey”This included trips to Chicago and Mississippi as well as the analysis of transcripts and testimonies from interviews conducted by historians and members of the production team. Producer and co-writer Keith Beauchamp’s close relationship with the Till family “really opened the door for me and being embraced as the filmmaker of this movie, and making sure that we get it right on a factual level and an emotional level,”Chukwu added that they would not have gone ahead without their blessing.
Regardless of how much audiences already know going into the film, Chukwu is confident that they’ll walk away having learned something new. She hopes to highlight the many steps Till Mobley took. “galvanizing media, in galvanizing community and the country”to fight for justice. “evolved and expanded over time.”
Additional to Deadwyler & Hall “Till”Haley Bennett, Frankie Faison and Whoopi Goldberg star. Beauchamp Broccoli and Thomas Levine, Frederick Zollo, Frederick Zollo, and Michael Reilly also produce the film. Beauchamp and Chukwu co-wrote and produced the script. As executive producers, Chukwu is joined by Preston Holmes.
“Till”It will be available in select theaters starting Oct. 14 and then nationwide beginning Oct. 28.
