I’ve been thinking a lot about southern stories and cinema. What filmmakers out there are telling personal, gripping and funny stories about this region and the people I grew up with and know?
But when I came across the post for the film at Hammer to Nail I was moved by this one phrase:
A firm, authentic and not altogether unappealing slice of Negro Miserabalism is a tough thing to find in the cinema—it’s not like American blacks have ever had their Mike Leigh.
What does that mean? What I took from it was a story/film centered on “real” people and one not afraid to present all of their humanity… beauty and warts and all. Maybe I’m stretching but this is where I’m trying to center myself as a filmmaker.
I don’t think the writer was comparing the “Mississippi Damned” director to Mike Leigh… but hey, I would take that. Moreover, the post really seemed to laud the film for not only taking an unvarnished look at these characters and their lives but also allowing humor to have it’s natural place there… just like life.
Take a look at the film’s website for a trailer and more information on “Mississippi Damned”.
And here’s the director, Tina Mabry in her own words:
Mississippi and Mike Leigh
I’ve been thinking a lot about southern stories and cinema. What filmmakers out there are telling personal, gripping and funny stories about this region and the people I grew up with and know?
I recently came across a post on Hammer to Nail about a feature film currently touring the festival circuit called “Mississippi Damned”. This film which first came to my attention because some of the people involved in it, Bradford Young (the Director of Photography), D.B. Woodside and MIchael Hyatt I know from professional associations, Yale Drama and NYU grad acting respectively.
But when I came across the post for the film at Hammer to Nail I was moved by this one phrase:
A firm, authentic and not altogether unappealing slice of Negro Miserabalism is a tough thing to find in the cinema—it’s not like American blacks have ever had their Mike Leigh.
What does that mean? What I took from it was a story/film centered on “real” people and one not afraid to present all of their humanity… beauty and warts and all. Maybe I’m stretching but this is where I’m trying to center myself as a filmmaker.
I don’t think the writer was comparing the “Mississippi Damned” director to Mike Leigh… but hey, I would take that. Moreover, the post really seemed to laud the film for not only taking an unvarnished look at these characters and their lives but also allowing humor to have it’s natural place there… just like life.
Take a look at the film’s website for a trailer and more information on “Mississippi Damned”.
And here’s the director, Tina Mabry in her own words: