4 Little Girls

This article is about the Spike Lee film. For the Picasso play, see The Four Little Girls.

4 Little Girls
Promotional poster
Directed bySpike Lee
Produced bySpike Lee
Sam Pollard
Daphne A McWilliams
CinematographyEllen Kuras
Edited bySam Pollard
Music byTerence Blanchard
Production
companies
Distributed byHBO
Release dates
  • July 9, 1997 (1997-07-09) (U.S.)
  • September 6, 1997 (1997-09-06) (Canada)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,000,000[1]
Box office$130,146 (U.S. sub-total)

4 Little Girls is a 1997 American historical documentary film about the murder of four African-American girls (Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson) in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963. The film was directed by Spike Lee and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.[2]

The events inspired the 1964 song "Birmingham Sunday" by Richard and Mimi Fariña, which was used in the opening sequence of the film, as sung by Joan Baez, Mimi's sister. They also inspired the 1963 tune "Alabama" by John Coltrane, which is also included in the soundtrack.

4 Little Girls premiered on June 25, 1997, at the Guild 50th Street Theatre in New York City. It was produced by Lee's production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, and Home Box Office (HBO).[3]

In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Susman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thomas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "2017 National Film Registry Is More Than a 'Field of Dreams'". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 13, 2017.