"To Kill a Mockingbird" to screen at the White House

(CBS News) The American Film Institute is celebrating the 50th anniversary of "To Kill a Mockingbird" with a special screening at the White House.

President Barack Obama will introduce the screening, which will take place in the White House Family Theater on Thursday, AFI announced in a statement.

Read more: President Obama to introduce "To Kill a Mockingbird" on TV

The 1962 film, based on Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, features actor Gregory Peck as Alabama attorney Atticus Finch in his fight for justice in a small town.

Children from Washington-area schools will be in attendance, as well as Mary Badham (who played Scout in the film), Peck's family and other guests.

Thursday's screening will be followed by a nationally-televised broadcast of the film Saturday night on USA Network at 8 p.m. EDT, with a special introduction by the president.

"I'm deeply honored that President Obama will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by introducing it to a national audience," Lee said in a statement. "I believe it remains the best translation of a book to film ever made, and I'm proud to know that Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch lives on - in a world that needs him now more than ever."