For those of us not going to the World Debating Championships in Thailand this Christmas there is a film about debating out in our cinemas this month. "The Great Debaters" stars Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker.
The film is based on the true story of Melvin Tolson, a professor at Wiley College who in 1935 formed and coached an all African-American debate team that went on to defeat the University of Southern California in the national championships. I suppose in order to allow the audience engage more with the achievement of an all black team in 1935 the film replaces USC with the Ivy league Harvard University.
I haven't seen the film so I can't review it (but if any producers out there would like to send me an advance copy I would be happy to watch and review as I've seen the line up of Christmas shows and films on Irish TV and as a result I'm hoping for some good DVDs as presents). I have noticed that the Hollywood reporter is listing it as a potential oscar contender so make of that what you will.
The trailer and official website can be found here here
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