In April, the director Ryan Coogler released Sinners, one thriller on two brothers in the 1930s who returned home to Clarksdale, MississippiTo open a juke joint. Less than a month after the film was released, sinners have made more than $ 200 million in the United States and Canada, which no original film has done In almost a decade.
But the residents of Clarksdale, a city with around 14,000 people, the majority of whom are black, had no way to see each other on the screen in their community. There is no active cinema in or near the city.
Tyler Yarbrough, from Clarksdale and community leader, has published an open letter in the name of “an intergenerational group of organizations, creatives, entrepreneurs, farmers and community leaders” inviting Coogler and the Sinners thrown into town.
“We are extending an open invitation to you, the cast, and the creative team behind sinners to visit clarksdale, to walk the streets your vision reimagined, to meet the people whose real stories echo through through Every Frame, and to experience First Hand-Hand the Living, Breathing Legacy that Inspired Your Work and the People Who Are Sustaining and Reimagining its future, ”Yarbrough wrote.
“We would also be honored to collaborate with you to organize a public projection and a celebration here in Clarksdale. A return home not only for the film, but for history, culture and the future that continue to define our city and connect Mississippi Creators with you and your work.
The letter quickly became viral after Capital B, A non -profit press organization led by blacks, reported on this subject and was recovered by other media and on social networks.
“We also hope that they see people who actually make badass shit regarding the joints of Juke, keeping them alive, with regard to some of the farmers who rethink agriculture, cotton to produce,” Yarbrough told Guardian in early May. “Blues is the foundation of all American music and American culture. There is so much power that comes here. While we are thinking of our national history, our community history, I think that Clarksdale and the (Mississippi) Delta, in particular, will also be part of this story of America in this few blacks in this country country to this ancestor earth. ”
Coogler and Warner Bros heard and answered the call, and on May 29, the inhabitants of Clarksdale were finally able to see themselves in their own community.
‘Coming here breathtaking me’
As part of Clarksdale Cultural Capital, a three -day festival sponsored by Warner Bros and others, Clarksdale residents have several free opportunities to see the film in their hometown.
Cooger; His wife, producer and co-founder of Proximity Media, Zinzi Coogler; Ludwig Görasson, film composer; Sev Ohanian, another producer and co-founder of Proximity Media; And executive music producer Serena Görasson attended and presented the morning screening of May 29, held in the Clarksdale Civic auditorium.
The two cooglers have a Mississippi family-Zinzi’s grandparents are from the state, just like one of the grandfathers of Ryan and an uncle, who inspired him to make the film.
“It is a love letter to our elders, to our recent and relatively distant ancestors, and we are so proud to be here in Clarksdale to share this film and this moment with you,” said Zinzi Coogle before the first screening. “We have heard the call according to which there is no theater for the local community and said:” Wait, wait, wait, we will present ourselves. “”
Ryan Coogler, from Oakland, California, shared that he had not visited Magnolia’s state before working on the film.
“Coming here, it blurs me,” he said about his first visit to the state. “I was able to meet musicians, I was able to meet members of the community, business owners. It really changed me just to come here and do the search. ”
Coogler invited the public to answer the film, and they nodd – encourage, laugh and drop at various times in the film. When the film opened and “Clarksdale, Mississippi, October 15, 1932” splashed through the screen, the public was lovely. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, originally from Clarksdale who appears in the film and attended the screening, also received thunderous applause and cheers when he appeared on the screen.
After the morning screening, the Cooglers, Görasson, Ohanian and Miles Caton, who had his first role in the film, and Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, Cederic Burnside, Tieriii Jackson and Bobby Rush, all musicians who worked on the film, participated in a question-and-animal session hosted by Clarksdale Aallyah Wright, of the BB capital
‘We must so Clarksdale’
The community has joined sinners: a sign outside New Roxy, formerly a black cinema and now a place of music, reads as follows: “Welcome to Clarksdale, Sinners Festival”. Ground Zero, juke joint of Morgan Freeman, offered drinks on the theme of sinners: The Smokest Jack, the Dance with the Devil and the Juke Joint Julep.
“We owe so Clarksdale, like the Mississippiens, the world owes Clarksdale and Mississippi as a whole to be a staple in the landscape of global culture. For me, sinners were one of my first experiences to see Mississippi in a complete and magnificent light on the big screen, “said Jasmine Williams, founder of Sipp Talk Media and one of the festivals organizers, in a problem. “I think this film comes home and being made accessible to the people who inspired it is so important, so people here understand our impact on the world.”
On May 29, the residents of Clarksdale had two opportunities to see the film: the projection of 11 a.m. and a performance at 5 p.m., which were both introduced by coogulating itself. In addition to the projection, the Clarksdale Cultural Capital Festival presented musical performances and other events featuring people from Clarksdale, through the Delta and the Mississippi.
The panels include coffee with Kinfolk: our future of Clarksdale, build an economy of blues rooted in dignity and cultural diversity in the Mississippi Delta: conversations with Choctaw and the American Chinese, among others, while musical performances include music inspired by sinners, held at Morgan Freeman’s Groundo; A show by Keith Johnson, the nephew of Muddy Waters; a recording and jam session of the sons’ house; and others.
