Synopsis

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 Recy 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.

DIRECTOR: Nancy Buirski
PRODUCERS: Nancy Buirski, Susan Margolin, Claire L. Chandler
Not Rated | RT: 89 Minutes
A Crime on the Bayou IMDB Page

For more information visit:
www.augustafilms.com

Press

June 17, 2021:
“engrossing, flavorful document”
“transcends a familiar PBS-type template for something more atmospheric and interesting.”

June 2021:
“has a potent idea, which is to show how even bureaucratic aspects of the legal system in the Deep South in the 1960s could be weaponized against Black Americans.”

June 16, 2021:
“celebrates the warmth of the friendship that developed between two men from very different backgrounds, yet sounds out very clearly a call for solidarity today.”
“A Crime On The Bayou does not disappoint.”

June 9, 2021:
“must-see documentary”
“required viewing”
“Just call it A Crime in the Show Me State.” by Lois Alter Mark

June 2021:
“the latest essential documentary from director Nancy Buirski”
“an urgent, exceptionally well told chronicle of an important but often forgotten moment in American history” by Sean Patrick

April 30, 2021:
“Watch Timely and Powerful Trailer for A Crime on the Bayou , Executive Produced by John Legend” by Salina Tsegai.

April 30, 2021:
“Watch Timely and Powerful Trailer for A Crime on the Bayou , Executive Produced by John Legend” by Salina Tsegai.

May 3, 2021:
“Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To Watch” by Nicholas Laskin.

May 3, 2021:
“Trailer Watch: Nancy Buirski Revisits “A Crime on the Bayou” and Exposes Institutional Racism” by Laura Berger.

April 30, 2021:
“Watch Timely and Powerful Trailer for A Crime on the Bayou , Executive Produced by John Legend” by Salina Tsegai.

April 1, 2021:
“Shout! Studios Acquires Nancy Buirski-Directed, John Legend EP’d Doc ‘A Crime On The Bayou’” by Matthew Carey.

Synopsis

Press

Trailer

Stills