*Talk about short notice… Lifetime has acquired the film “Showing Roots” and today announced that it has chosen May 26, at 10 p.m. for its premiere — a.k.a. tomorrow night.
Uzo Aduba and Maggie Grace star as two women in a racially segregated Southern town who are each affected by the 1977 showing of the TV miniseries “Roots.” The pair join forces to integrate their community, but run into roadblocks as the town’s long embedded racial history comes rushing to the surface.
The indie pic, from director Michael Wilson (“The Trip to Bountiful”), had been touring the festival circuit before coming to Lifetime, winning the “Spirit of Freedom: Narrative Award” at the Bahamas Film Festival, as well as the “Best Feature Film” award the Maryland International Film Festival.
Lifetime is squeezing it in before the History channel’s remake of “Roots” premieres on Memorial Day.
Cicely Tyson (who starred in the original “Roots”), Elizabeth McGovern and Adam Brody co-star in “Showing Roots.” The script was written by “One Life to Live” actress Susan Batten.
Watch the trailer for “Showing Roots” below: