THINKFilm has picked up North American rights to KeithBeauchamp's civil rights documentary The Untold Story Of Emmett Louis Till.

The picture will launch on Aug 17 in New York at a private UNscreening and at Film Forum, followed by a nationwide rollout coinciding withthe 50th anniversary of Till's murder.

Beauchamp's picture investigates the killing of the teenage cottonpicker by two men in Mississippi in 1955 after he allegedly whistled at thewife of one of the men.

The ensuing trial exonerated the defendants and was declared asham by activists, sparking the civil rights movement in the Southern states.

Beauchamp's 10-year investigation into the case has uncoveredpotentially guilty parties and delivers testimony from Till's late mother, whopassed away in 2003.

As a result of these revelations the US Justice Department re-openedthe case in May 2004.

Vice president of acquisitions Daniel Katz negotiated the deal forTHINKFilm with Steven Beer on behalf of the producers.