11 Dec Danielle Solzman | Chicago Film Festival: The Rape of Recy Taylor

The Rape of Recy Taylor is one of the timeliest films to screen during the Chicago International Film Festival with two screenings last week.

With sexual harassment and assault making the waves in and out of Hollywood, it’s something that has to be talked about.  In this case, The Loving Story director Nancy Buirski brings us Recy Taylor’s story and dedicates the film to those women who haven’t been heard yet.

Recy Taylor came of age at a time when it was not safe to be a person of color.  What’s staggering is the number of African-American women who were raped in an area of the country that was known for its racism.  How is it possible to have such much hatred for an entire race yet they are considered enough to have sexual intercourse with?  It makes no sense to me.

But I digress.  Rape victims were too scared to speak out.  Crimes went unreported and their stories, like so many, went untold.  But for Recy Taylor, who was raped by 6 white boys in Alabama, wasn’t afraid to speak up and through the aid of NACCP chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, her story was spread with the hope that justice would be served.

The Rape of Recy Taylor premiered at the Venice International Film Festival before a North American premiere at the New York Film Festival.  An Oscar-qualifying December release is planned.