The Well

Independent filmmakers Leo Popkin and Russell Rouse ride waves of rage and redemption across a surprisingly complex portrayal of systemic racism and white privilege in small town America that was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Screenplay and Editing). When a young Black girl goes missing and a white suspect is arrested, rumors and accusations roil the residents on both sides of a community's racial divide. Popkin and Rouse give ample time to voices righteous and rotten while ratcheting up the suspense as the potential for full scale violence grows. The town's rising fever breaks when the girl is discovered, trapped in the titular well, and the film deftly resets the clock on its gripping race against time.