When thinking about the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. it's natural for people to immediately go to the "I Have a Dream" speech—but the marches in Selma, Alabama were just as important in enacting massive change in the United States.
Writer-director Ava DuVernay uses this specific moment in 1965 as a backdrop in Selma, a film about the life of MLK (played by David Oyelowo) and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. By focusing on one experience of MLK's, DuVernay is able to depict all of them. Selma (which features scenes that bare a haunting resemblance to images from the protests in Ferguson, Mo.) promises to be a moving film—with performances from Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson, and more—about a legend, but also about a man and a movement that changed a country.
Before it starts making the rounds on TV, check out the exclusive teaser above, which also features a new original song from Common. Selma hits select theaters on Dec. 25, and is out nationwide on Jan. 9.
