Crash chronicles racial tension and prejudice in America as the lives of several people become entwined during a 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2004, and was released internationally in 2005.

In 2008, Haggis adapted the film into a television series of the same name, which airs Fridays on the Starz channel.

A self-described "passion piece" for Paul Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in 1991, when his Porsche was carjacked outside a video store on Wilshire Boulevard.

In 2005, Crash won three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing at the 78th Academy Awards.