Sins of the Father (film)
Encyclopedia
Sins of the Father is a 2002
American
docudrama
directed by Robert Dornhelm
. The teleplay
by John Pielmeier
is based on a Texas Monthly
article by Pamela Colloff chronicling the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
in Birmingham, Alabama
in which four young African American girls were killed while attending Sunday-school. The victims were Adie Mae Collins, 14 yrs old; Denise McNair, 11 yrs old; Carole Robertson, 14 yrs old; and Cynthia Welsley, 14 yrs old. It was believed that there were 5 girls together in the church basement on that fateful day, but only one survived... young Sarah Collins, Adie Mae's younger sister. The bombing was racially motivated and carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan
The film was shot in Toronto
. The cast includes Tom Sizemore
, Richard Jenkins
, Ving Rhames
, Colm Feore
, Jackie Richardson
, Connor Price
, Aaryn Doyle
, Isys McKoy, Jessica Gray Charles, and Funmiola Lawson.
Rhames was nominated for the Black Reel Award
for Best Actor and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
. Pielmeier's teleplay earned him nominations for the Humanitas Prize
and the Writers Guild of America Award
.
2002 in television
The year 2002 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2002.For the American TV schedule, see: 2002–03 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
directed by Robert Dornhelm
Robert Dornhelm
Robert Dornhelm is an Austrian film and television director of Romanian ancestry. He has worked on numerous television programmes and has also released such movies as Echo Park, The Venice Project, Der Unfisch, and A Further Gesture...
. The teleplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by John Pielmeier
John Pielmeier
John Pielmeier is an American playwright and screenwriter.Born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Pielmeier earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Catholic University of America in 1970 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1978...
is based on a Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
article by Pamela Colloff chronicling the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed on Sunday, September 15, 1963. The explosion at the African-American church, which killed four girls, marked a turning point in the U.S...
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in which four young African American girls were killed while attending Sunday-school. The victims were Adie Mae Collins, 14 yrs old; Denise McNair, 11 yrs old; Carole Robertson, 14 yrs old; and Cynthia Welsley, 14 yrs old. It was believed that there were 5 girls together in the church basement on that fateful day, but only one survived... young Sarah Collins, Adie Mae's younger sister. The bombing was racially motivated and carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan
The film was shot in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The cast includes Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
, Richard Jenkins
Richard Jenkins
Richard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...
, Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
, Colm Feore
Colm Feore
Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
, Jackie Richardson
Jackie Richardson
Jackie Richardson is a Canadian singer and actress.She is known for her screen roles in The Gospel According to the Blues, The Doodlebops, and Sins of the Father....
, Connor Price
Connor Price
Connor Price is a Canadian actor.An early role was Young Bobby Jr in the television drama Sins of the Father . Other works include BB. Jammies, Harvey and Bud in the Save-Ums , and Jay Braddock in Cinderella Man...
, Aaryn Doyle
Aaryn Doyle
Aaryn Élan Doyle is a Canadian actress, voice actor, singer, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and model. She is best known for her role as Lola Scott in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Camp Rock" performing her feature song "What it Takes"...
, Isys McKoy, Jessica Gray Charles, and Funmiola Lawson.
Rhames was nominated for the Black Reel Award
Black Reel Awards
The Black Reel Awards began in 2000 and were designed to annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films...
for Best Actor and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special:...
. Pielmeier's teleplay earned him nominations for the Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
and the Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
.
Characters and cast
- Tom SizemoreTom SizemoreThomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
as Tom Cherry - Richard JenkinsRichard JenkinsRichard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...
as Bobby Frank Cherry - Brenda Bazinet as Virginia Cherry
- Lachlan MurdochLachlan MurdochLachlan Keith Murdoch is the eldest son of Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his second wife Anna Torv. He resigned from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005...
as Young Tom - Colm FeoreColm FeoreColm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
as Dalton Strong - Ving RhamesVing RhamesIrving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
as Garrick Jones - Jessica Gray Charles as Denise McNair was murdered in Birmingham Bombing.
- Funmiola Lawson as Cynthia Wesley was murdered in Birmingham Bombing.
- Aaryn DoyleAaryn DoyleAaryn Élan Doyle is a Canadian actress, voice actor, singer, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and model. She is best known for her role as Lola Scott in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Camp Rock" performing her feature song "What it Takes"...
as Carole Robertson was murdered in Birmingham Bombing. - Isys McKoy as Addie Mae Collins was murdered in Birmingham Bombing.
- Mica Le John as Sarah Collins was injured in Birmingham Bombing.
- Kim RobertsKim RobertsKim Roberts is an award-winning American poet, author, and editor residing in Washington, D.C..-Life:Roberts was born in Charlotte, North Carolina...
as Mrs. Wesley - Delores Etienne as Older Woman at Church
- Sandi Ross as Sunday School Teacher
- Ardon BessArdon BessArdon Bess is a Canadian actor best known for appearing in a Heritage Moment television commercial about the 1958 Springhill mining disaster portraying survivor Maurice Ruddick...
as Minister at Church - Michael Rhoades as Tommy
- Bruce McFee as Robert Chambliss
- Tony MunchTony MunchTony Munch is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in Land of the Dead as Anchor and in the films Cube Zero, Shoot 'Em Up and .45.-Filmography:*Red Coat Justice as Cobb...
as Herman Cash - Simon ReynoldsSimon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
as Troy Ingram - Tom McBeathTom McBeathTom McBeath is a Canadian actor living in Vancouver, Canada and is the winner of three Jessie Awards. He is best known for playing Harry Maybourne on Stargate SG-1. He is also a stage actor known to take a diverse set of roles.-External links:...
as J. Edgar Hoover