This film adaptation of Maya Angelou's autobiography focuses on the author's extremely difficult youth. Young Maya (Constance Good) lives at her grandmother's in Arkansas. Life is hard for the little girl, but a truly dark turning point comes when she is raped by her mother's boyfriend (Paul Benjamin). After she identifies her rapist, her uncles murder him. Overwhelmed with guilt and confusion, Maya becomes mute for years, struggling all the while to come to terms with her trauma.
Initial release: April 28, 1979
Director: Fielder Cook
Producer: George W. Perkins
Music composed by: Peter Matz
Screenplay: Maya Angelou, Leonora Thuna
Top Cast:
Diahann Carroll
Constance Good
Esther Rolle
Ruby Dee
Roger E. Mosley
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VnpGaragYyo/maxresdefault.jpg)