It is the Alabama town forever associated with the civil rights struggle after state troopers clubbed and tear-gassed activists as they tried to march on the state capital, Montgomery, 54 miles away.
Now the story of the historic marches from Selma in 1965, which led to legislation that finally brought equal suffrage for African-Americans through the 1965 Voting Rights Act, is to be told on the big screen, reports Variety.
Lee Daniels, whose inspirational film Precious is being seen as a potential Oscar contender, is in advanced talks to direct Selma. The film is being put together by the British producer of Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson, and its screenplay will be by Paul Webb, who is also writing Steven Spielberg's long-gestating biopic of Abraham Lincoln.
The film will trace the events that led to what became known as Bloody Sunday on 7 March 1965, when 600 black and white marchers were assaulted and tear-gassed by state troopers as they tried to cross the Pettus bridge over the Alabama river. The activists were demonstrating against violations of voting rights laws; in 1961, although African-Americans were officially allowed to vote, fewer than 1% in the area were on the electoral roll, and the state government and police regularly used force to defy attempts to register voters.
At least 50 people were injured that day, with 17 needing hospitalisation. Americans reacted in horror at televised scenes of the violence, leading to an outpouring of support for the marchers – who would finally make it to Montgomery on 25 March 1965 after federal troops were dispatched to protect them.
At the climactic rally on the steps of the State Capitol building, Martin Luther King delivered his "How Long, Not Long" speech to 25,000 people. Five months later, President Lyndon Johnson pushed through the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed the use of such hurdles as literacy tests that had been used to prevent blacks from registering to vote.
So far there are no cast details for Selma, but filming is planned to start in the early spring.
