Based on true events in the midst of the 2000 election, American Violet tells the astonishing story of Dee Roberts (critically hailed newcomer Nicole Beharie), a 24 year-old African American single mother of four young girls living in a small Texas town who is barely making ends meet on a waitress' salary and government subsidies.

On an early November morning while Dee works a shift at the local diner, the powerful local district attorney (Michael O'Keefe) leads an extensive drug bust, sweeping her Arlington Springs housing project with military precision. Police drag Dee from work in handcuffs, dumping her in the squalor of the women's county prison. Indicted based on the uncorroborated word of a single and dubious police informant facing his own drug charges, Dee soon discovers she has been charged as a drug dealer.

Even though Dee has no prior drug record and no drugs were found on her in the raid or any subsequent searches, she is offered a hellish choice: plead guilty and go home as a convicted felon or remain in prison and fight the charges thus, jeopardizing her custody and risking a long prison sentence.

Despite the urgings of her mother (Alfre Woodard), and with her freedom and the custody of her children at stake, she chooses to fight the district attorney and the unyielding criminal justice system he represents. Joined in an unlikely alliance with an ACLU attorney (Tim Blake Nelson) and former local narcotics officer (Will Patton), Dee risks everything in a battle that forever changes her life and the Texas justice system. "American Violet" also stars Emmy Award winner Charles S. Dutton and Xzibit.

"American Violet" will be available on DVD & Blu-ray October 13.

Enter here for your chance to win one of five copies of "American Violet" on DVD!

DVD and Blu-ray special features:
-Commentary by Director Tim Disney
-Telluride Film Festival Interview
-Trailer

Image © Samuel Goldwyn Films

Enter here for your chance to win one of five copies of "American Violet" on DVD!

Reviews:
"AMAZING! The first must-see film for African-Americans in 2009." - Clay Cane, BET.com
"EXCELLENT performances by Beharie, Woodard, Nelson and Patton" - The Washington Post
"POWERFUL performance by newcomer Nicole Behaire" - B+, Entertainment Weekly
"IDEAL MOVIE for an ideal time" - San Francisco Chronicle