‘Through Her Eyes’ Humanizes A Moment In Civil Rights

Recognized by the African Academy Awards and included as one of the films featured on  USA Today’s Summer of 2021 Movie Picks,Through Her Eyes is the latest Civil Rights-era historical drama to take place in Selma, Alabama, following 15-year-old Rosalee Wimbush (Rayven Symone Ferrell) in a captivating coming of age story.

The critically acclaimed film starts after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Brown v. The Board of Education, by 1963, Alabama schools were still segregated. Tackling the issue of desegregation in schools, filmmaker Trenton Lumpkin, unveils Ferrell’s character in a way that displays both power and courage. 

Lumpkin brings viewers into this fictionalized story so that they become emotionally invested in Rosalee’s story as her parents Otis and May try to decide if she’s equipped to carry the heavy burden of being the first person to desegregate her school. The film is only further adorned by a beautiful performance offered by actress Ferrell (“All Eyez on Me” (2017), “The Bobby Brown Story” (2018).

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“History is not fiction. People lived through these events regardless of how uncomfortable they may cause the viewer to feel,” says Lumpkin. “I chose to tell this story because I wanted people to experience what Rosalee had to go through simply for wanting to better herself. What was her crime? Being Black? If we’re going to create a better future, we have to learn from our past.” 

Through Her Eyes is currently available for streaming on several platforms including Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play and more. 

Watch the trailer below: