A Black teenager bravely challenges the most powerful white supremacist in 1960s Louisiana with the help of a young Jewish attorney. Systemic racism meets its match in decisive courtroom battles, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and a lifelong friendship is born.
During 1968 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, Gary Duncan was accused of slapping a white boy in the face after interfering in a verbal altercation he had with his cousin on the way home from school. As Gary pulled up, he asked his cousin if there was a problem. As he stepped out of the vehicle, one of the kids asked for his name. He responded with a gentle touch on their shoulder resulting in his arrest.
This crime is nothing new in America as recently the public has exposed hundreds of the most bogus arrests of all time. Remember the woman who called the cops on a black child for selling lemonade in the park? Or that time a bird watcher kindly asks a white woman to put her dog on a leash and she calls the police with threats of being attacked? These stories date back to the beginning of time, many of which have lead to severe police brutality, imprisonment, and murder. Blacks weren’t the only ones sick and tired of this treatment, civil rights attorney Richard Sobol decided to take the case to the Supreme Court where they would fight for a fair trial. Great documentary and right on time!
“A Crime on the Bayou” will have its World Premiere at the 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival Nov. 11 – 19
