Film producer Chaz Ebert, who is the widow of film critic Roger Ebert, is working on bringing to life a feature film about Emmett Till and his mother. According to Deadline, the film will adapt the 2004 Pulitzer Prize-nominated book Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America, which is an autobiography written by Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, with journalist Christopher Benson.
Emmett was 14 years old when he was killed while visiting relatives in the Mississippi Delta. He was kidnapped and brutally tortured after allegedly whistling at a white woman. This year marks the 60th anniversary of his death.
“The full Emmett Till story needs to be told now and told well as a narrative for our times, given all that is happening on American streets today, and Shatterglass Films are the people to tell it,” said Ebert.
The film is slated to begin filming in Illinois and Mississippi next year.