Samira Wiley stars in ’37’, inspired by 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese

Feb 9, 2017

“37,” a new movie starring Samira Wiley, is the directorial debut of Danish director Puk Grasten, and it follows the lives of the families who stood by during the 1964 rape and murder of Kitty Genovese.

The film follows three different families in their day-to-day lives and seeks to understand why they chose not to act when, on March 13, 1964, she was stabbed to death by Winston Moseley. In addition to the murder itself, the fact that Genovese’s neighbors simply stood by when this was happening became a huge part of the story. In fact, it is now a social psychological phenomenon called the bystander effect or “Genovese syndrome.”

Moseley was arrested and sentenced to death, though his sentence was changed to life on the grounds that he had not been able to argue that he was “medically insane” during the trial.

Wiley stars in this movie as the matriarch of one of the three families, the Smiths, alongside Michael Potts and Marquise Gary. Joyce (Wiley), her husband Archibald (Potts) and their son Troy (Gary). The Smiths are fleeing the tension of the race riots in Harlem and looking for a quieter, safer life for their children. They have one child and a second on the way.

You can check out the official US trailer below and let us know what you think.