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South Arts recently announced the lineup of twenty-one Screening Partner organizations and thirteen films and filmmaking teams selected for the 2024-2025 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. This long-running South Arts program connects US-based documentary filmmakers with communities throughout the South for screenings and conversations around important stories, topics, and the art of filmmaking. South Arts selected the Mississippi Film Society as one of the partner organizations for the Mississippi/Alabama/Louisiana region. In conversation with other screening partners in the religion, the Mississippi Film Society helped select six films from the thirteen recommendations. You can read more about the films below, which will be screened in September, October, and November of this year and in February, March, and April next year.
“The Screening Partner film selections for this season demonstrate the group’s commitment to fostering curious spaces and using film as a conduit for local conversations,” said Jordan Young, Southern Circuit program director. “Directly connecting independent filmmakers with community audiences amplifies the films’ impact while investing in the regional filmmaking infrastructure of the South and engaging local community members in critical conversations.”
Each film screening will be accompanied by a post-screening panel discussion and audience Q&A with the filmmakers and subject matter experts. “Narrative and documentary films have the power to shape hearts and minds. When screened in community, this act of watching can spark conversation and action that can lead to real, meaningful connections across difference. This has been a foundational belief of the Mississippi Film Society, which works to entertain, educate, and inspire Mississippians through community,” said Ryan Parker, Executive Director of the Mississippi Film Society. “We are excited to partner with SouthArts, fellow regional screening partners, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Film Office, and a host of other local and regional subject matter experts to bring these screenings to the Jackson Metro area.”
Screenings include the following films (please note that times and locations may be subject to change):
Family Tree (screening Thursday, 9/12, at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science at 7 pm): explores sustainable forestry in North Carolina through the stories of two Black families fighting to preserve their land and generational legacy. Family Tree’s cinema vérité approach reveals the vast task of maintaining the land, while navigating challenging family dynamics, unscrupulous developers, and changing environmental needs. The forest itself and the beauty of its changing seasons become a primary character in this drama about its own survival.
Small Town Universe (screening Friday, 10/11, at Millsaps College at 7 pm): paints an intimate portrait of life in Green Bank, West Virginia, home to the world's most powerful radio telescope and the only U.S. town where Wi-Fi and cell phones are banned. In this uniquely radio-quiet tight-knit community, scientists use the telescope to search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) and advance the field of radio astronomy while the residents experience defining moments of life and loss. What unites them is a shared connection to the universe, science, and each other.
The World Is Not My Own (screening Thursday, 2/13, at the Mississippi Museum of Art at 7 pm): chewing gum sculptures, a wealthy gallerist, a firebrand wrestler, a notorious murder case and the segregated south – it’s all part of Nellie Mae Rowe’s boundless universe. This World is Not My Own reimagines this self-taught artist’s world and her life spanning the 20th century.
Where the Butterflies Go (screening Wednesday, 3/12, at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science at 11:30 a.m.): in a desperate attempt to host his own children’s nature show, a fumbling filmmaker travels 3,000 miles asking North Americans how to save the endangered monarch butterfly, and ourselves, from extinction.
Lift (screening Thursday, 3/20, at 7 p.m., location TBD): over a decade in the making, Lift shines a spotlight on the transformative power of dance and the invisible story of homelessness in America through young home-insecure ballet dancers and their mentor who inspires them. Guided by Steven Melendez, who began his dance career in a shelter, these children make this aristocratic art form their own when they step from the shelter to the stage.
Kim’s Video (screening Saturday, 4/12, at 7 p.m., location TBD): for two decades, New York City cinephiles had access to a treasure trove of rare and esoteric films through Kim's Video. Originally run by the enigmatic Yongman Kim out of his dry-cleaning business, his franchise eventually amassed 55,000 rental titles. In 2008, facing a changing industry, Mr. Kim offered to give away his collection provided that it stay intact and be available to Kim's Video members. In a bid to revitalize tourism, the small Italian village of Salemi, Sicily became home to the archive. But after the initial publicity faded, so too did any sign of the collection. Enter filmmaker David Redmon, who credits Kim's Video for his film education. With the ghosts of cinema past leading his way, Redmon embarks on a seemingly quixotic quest to track down what happened to the legendary collection and to free it from purgatory.
For more information on these screenings, please contact Ryan Parker at [email protected] and follow the Mississippi Film Society on Facebook and Instagram at @msfilmsociety.
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