The Great Debaters Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

Plot

Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and inspired by a true story, "The Great Debaters" chronicles the journey of a brilliant but volatile coach (Denzel Washington) who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small, modest black college in East Texas into an elite debate team while challenging the social mores of the time, culminating with a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard's championship team.

Drama

• 
  Kimberly Elise

  Almost Christmas, For Colored Girls

• 
  Nate Parker

  Non-Stop, The Birth of a Nation

• 
  Forest Whitaker

  The King of Kings, Arrival

• 
  Denzel Washington

  Here Comes The Flood, Highest 2 Lowest

• J
  Jermaine Williams

  Fat Albert

• J
  J. D. Evermore

  Inside Out

• J
  John Heard

  The Chumscrubber, Assault on Wall Street

Who is making The Great Debaters – Crew List

A look at The Great Debaters behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Denzel Washington last helmed A Journal for Jordan and Antwone Fisher. The film's writer Robert Elise last penned Untitled Jim Brown Project.

Director

Denzel Washington

Screenwriter

Robert Elise

Producers

Todd Black
Kate Forte
Joe Roth

Production – What we know about the The Great Debaters

Copy link to Production – What we know about the The Great Debaters

Movie Filming Timeline: Production Status Updates

Dec 2004

Completed

Changed The Great Debaters movie production status. The movie is ready for release.

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