While in Mississippi for a family visit, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered after being wrongfully accused of harassing a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. When it became clear that the white establishment was unconcerned with bringing his killers to justice – and Bryant was prepared to lie to protect the murderers – Emmett’s mother Mamie turned reluctant activist, her fight becoming a major catalyst for the US Civil Rights movement. Danielle Deadwyler brings deep emotional resonance to her role as Mamie Till-Mobley. And Chinonye Chukwu delivers on the promise of her debut, Clemency, with this expertly crafted and emotional period drama, produced by Barbara Broccoli and also starring Whoopi Goldberg, Londoner Tosin Cole and Haley Bennett, who plays Bryant with bitter hatefulness.

Chukwu shows great consideration to avoid exploiting the physical violence against Emmett, with much care evident in her construction of scenes of the attack. But she is also not interested in the comfort of audiences looking to identify with whiteness. As relevant now as ever, Till is intelligent, emotional and gripping from the first shot to the last.

Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival

"Chukwu revisits the past while doing something extremely difficult. She makes this grim American history insistently of the moment — and she does so by stripping the story down to its raw, harrowing emotional core." New York Times

Content warning: racism, disturbing images, upsetting scenes, moderate threat. See the BBFC website for more information.