In the 1940s South, an African-American man is wrongly accused of the killing a a white store owner. In his defense, his white attorney equates him with a lowly hog, to indicate that he didn't have the sense to know what he was doing. Nevertheless convicted, he is sentenced to die, but his godmother and the aunt of the local schoolteacher convince school teacher go to the convicted man's cell each day to try to reaffirm to him that he is not an animal but a man with dignity.

After making a name for herself on the West Coast, a defense lawyer returns to her hometown of Atlanta to argue a controversial rape-murder case. But it's not all work and no play: once there, she reenters high society and has a reunion with an old flame -- who just happens to be the prosecuting attorney on her case. As she investigates her client's claims of innocence, she uncovers a sinister conspiracy that threatens both her life and her new romance.

Three disillusioned wives who are contemplating divorce compare notes on their stormy marriages.

Otis Cooke is a DJ with a late-night American soul music programme in Liverpool. His favorite band, The Tallahassees, disbanded years ago, but their biggest hit, "Pickin' Up the Pieces," was never released in England. The film recounts Cooke's adventures and misadventures as he travels to the U.S., finds the band members, and convinces them to get back together for a reunion tour of the U.K and the release of their old songs on CD.

John is a man of many talents, including one forbidden skill: he can read. When he teaches a young slave girl named Sarny to read and write, she learns an unforgettable lesson about the power of words and the true meaning of freedom.

Tells the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American (they preferred "colored") sisters who both lived past the age of 100. They grew up on a North Carolina college campus, the daughters of the first African-American Episcopal bishop, who was born a slave, and a woman with an inter-racial background. With the support of each other and their family, they survived encounters with racism and sexism in their own different ways. Sadie quietly and sweetly broke barriers to become the first African-American home-ec teacher in New York City, while Bessie, with her own brand of outspokenness, became the second African-American dentist in New York City. At the ages of 103 and 101, they told their story to Amy Hill Hearth, a white New York Times reporter who published an article about them. The overwhelming response launched a bestselling book, a Broadway play, and this film.

In the small Southern community of Twin Pines, GA, lives Noah Dearborn, a master craftsman and farmer who cherishes his solitude almost as much as the local townspeople cherish him — especially restaurant owner Sarah McClellan. But when greedy real estate developers set their sights on Noah's land and he rejects their six-figure offer, this taciturn man is forced to summon all his strength in order to defend not only his property and way of life, but his sanity.

Detective Allan Pinkerton, working for the Union, becomes obsessed with Southern socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow, a spy for the Confederacy.