'American Violet'

Six years ago, writer-producer Bill Haney was driving home during rush hour in Boston when he heard a National Public Radio story about Regina Kelly, a young African American woman -- a single mother with four daughters -- in the small Texas town of Hearne who was unjustly arrested during a raid on the projects where she lived. She was accused of dealing drugs.

The district attorney gave her the option of either a plea deal -- if she took the deal she wouldn't be allowed to vote and would lose most of her rights -- or going to jail for 25 years. Instead of conceding, the 24-year-old woman contested the charges and, after they were dismissed, teamed with the ACLU to file a discrimination suit against the D.A. and local police.

"She was basically given a 'Sophie's Choice,' " says Haney. "I began to cry and started crying so much I couldn't drive. I had kids myself, and the idea this sort of institutionalized casual cruelty was happening to a mother and young girls, it so infuriated and upset me."

He discussed Kelly's story with his production partner, director Tim Disney (the son of Roy Disney). The two have previously made feature films and documentaries dealing with human rights issues, including "The Price of Sugar" and "Crusade: A March Through Time."

"We have similar values," says Haney, adding that they were interested in telling Kelly's story but initially didn't know whether it should be a documentary or a dramatic feature. They opted for the latter, "American Violet," which opens Friday.

Newcomer Nicole Beharie plays the heroine, now called Dee Roberts (all the names and locations have been changed; the film is set in fictional Melody, Texas); Alfre Woodard is her mother; Tim Blake Nelson is an ACLU attorney; Will Patton is a local lawyer who collaborates with the ACLU; and Michael O'Keefe is the D.A.

Haney and Disney thought doing the film as a feature would have more universal resonance with audiences. "You can also draw on the talents of the great actors to have real emotional resonance," he says. "And we felt that ideally it would be seen by more people and affect more people's views as a feature film."

Haney went to Texas and spent a lot of time with Kelly, her children and the attorneys, filming long interviews with them, as well as going through some 50,000 pages of legal documents.