Playing in limited theaters on March 20 is this powerful film about a series of racist incidents on a campus that leads to surprising and insightful discoveries for the community.

Directed by Mark Brokaw, 'Butter' is adapted by Rebecca Gilman from her stage play, with the screenplay co-written by Doug Atchison (writer and director of 'Akeelah and the Bee').

Also starring in the film are Sarah Jessica Parker, Beau Bridges, Miranda Richardson, James Rebhorn and Victor Rasuk.

Parker produces and stars in the film, which is about a newly hired dean of students at an elite New England college who finds her life consumed by chaos following a vicious series of hate crimes. Sarah Daniels (Parker) is just settling into her new position when she is placed in charge of an investigation into a series of racially motivated campus crimes.

Having previously worked at an inner-city school, Sarah makes the decision to get the police involved when Dean Catherine Kenney (Richardson) and President Winston Garvey (Rebhorn) -- both more concerned with maintaining the institution's untarnished image than actually capturing the culprit -- begin to question her authority at every turn. Later, when investigative reporter Aaron Carmichael (Mykelti Williamson) arrives on campus after receiving an anonymous telephone call, Sarah is saddled with the responsibility of escorting the journalist in order to squelch any potentially negative press.

When a "Forum on Race," conducted by professor Burton Strauss (Bridges) against Sarah's recommendation, turns into an all-out riot, the emerging truth about the crimes forces the emotionally shattered dean of students to confront her own long-dormant prejudices.