''Conviction'' is a 2002 American

biographical drama A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

about Carl Upchurch, a felon who managed to educate himself and developed a spiritual awakening during one of his numerous stints inside prison. He began to spread his message to other inmates, and soon he was asked to help mediate problems between some of the most feared street gangs in the country. It was directed by

Kevin Rodney Sullivan Kevin Rodney Sullivan (born August 3, 1958) is an American film and television actor and film director. Early life and acting career Sullivan is a San Francisco native who began his career as a child actor. The youngest of three children, he grew ...

and written by Upchurch and Jon Huffman, based on Upchurch's 1996 autobiography ''Convicted in the Womb''.

Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. Epps's film roles include ''Juice (1992 film), Juice'', ''Higher Learning'', ''The Wood'', ''In Too Deep (1999 film), In Too Deep'', and ''Love & Basketball''. His ...

stars as Upchurch, with

Dana Delany Dana Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television drama ''China Beach'' (1 ...

Bentley Mitchum Bentley Mitchum (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor who has appeared in about 40 films and TV series, including Sundance grand jury prize winner '' Ruby in Paradise'', '' The Man in the Moon'', '' The Wonder Years'', ''Conviction'', '' ...

, and Charles S. Dutton co-starring. The film aired on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on September 29, 2002.

Cast

as Carl Upchurch *

as Martha *

as Ledford * Charles S. Dutton as McGill *

Treach Anthony Shawn Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Early life, family and education Criss atte ...

as Tank * Kyle Kass as Demetrius Conamacher * Jonathan Whittaker as Bob Conamacher * Janine Theriault as Andrea Santoni *

Peter Mensah Peter Mensah (born 27 August 1959) is a Ghanaian-British actor, based in Canada. He is best known for his role as Oenomaus on the Starz television series ''Spartacus'' (2010–2013). He has also appeared in such films as ''Tears of the Sun'', '' ...

as T-Bone

Production

Filming took place in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, from May to June 2001.

References

External links

* 2002 television films 2002 films 2002 biographical drama films 2002 crime drama films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s gang films 2000s prison drama films American biographical drama films American crime drama films American drama television films American gang films American prison drama films Biographical films about activists Biographical films about criminals American biographical television films American crime television films Films based on autobiographies Films directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan Films scored by Jeff Beal Films shot in Ontario Showtime (TV network) films Television films based on books English-language biographical drama films English-language crime drama films {{US-tv-film-stub