In April, the director Ryan Coogler released Sinners, a thriller about two brothers in the 1930s who return home to Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint.
Less than a month after the film was released, Sinners made over $200m in the US and Canada, something no original film has done in almost a decade.
“We would also be honored to collaborate with you to host a public screening and celebration here in Clarksdale.
When the film opened, and “Clarksdale, Mississippi October 15, 1932” splashed across the screen, the audience was rapturous.
Alongside the screening, the Clarksdale Cultural Capital festival featured music performances and other events featuring people from Clarksdale, across the delta and Mississippi.
Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, is a thriller set in the 1930s about two brothers who go back to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint. It was released in April. Sinners made over $200 million in the US and Canada less than a month after its premiere, something no original movie has done in nearly ten years.
However, the people of Clarksdale, a town of 14,000 people, most of whom are Black, had no way of seeing themselves on screen in their neighborhood. The town does not currently have any operating movie theaters.
Community leader and Clarksdale native Tyler Yarbrough sent out an open letter inviting Coogler and the Sinners cast to town on behalf of “an intergenerational group of organizations, creatives, entrepreneurs, farmers, and community leaders.”.
Yarbrough wrote, “We are inviting you, the actors, and the creative team behind Sinners to come to Clarksdale, to walk the streets where your vision has been reimagined, to meet the people whose real stories are echoed in every frame, and to experience firsthand the living, breathing legacy that inspired your work and the people who are sustaining and reimagining its future.”.
Additionally, it would be a privilege to work with you to organize a public screening and celebration in Clarksdale. A homecoming for the movie as well as for the past, present, and future that continue to shape our city and to link Mississippi artists with you and your creations. “”.
Following a report by Capital B, a non-profit news organization led by Black people, the letter quickly gained widespread attention on social media and by other news outlets.
In early May, Yarbrough told the Guardian, “We’re also hoping that they see the people who are actually doing some badass shit right now when it comes to the juke joints, keeping them alive, when it comes to some of the farmers who are rethinking farming, from cotton to produce.”. “All American music and culture are built on the blues. The power that comes from this source is immense. I believe that Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta in particular will be a part of this retelling of America to connect all Black people in this country back to this ancestral land as we consider our national story and our community story. “.”.
People in Clarksdale were able to see themselves in their own community on May 29th after Coogler and Warner Bros. heard and responded to the call.
“I was blown away by coming here.”.
There are several free chances for Clarksdale residents to see the film in their hometown as part of the three-day festival known as Clarksdale Cultural Capital, which is supported by Warner Bros. and others.
Coogler; Ludwig Göransson, the film’s composer; Sev Ohanian, another producer and co-founder of Proximity Media; executive music producer Serena Göransson; and Zinzi Coogler, his wife and co-founder of Proximity Media and producer, attended and introduced the film’s May 29 morning screening at the Clarksdale civic auditorium.
Ryan Coogler was inspired to make the movie by his uncle and one of his grandfathers, as well as Zinzi’s grandparents, who are from Mississippi.
Zinzi Coogler stated prior to the first showing, “This 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 movie and this moment with you guys.”. When we heard that the neighborhood didn’t have a theater, we responded, “Wait, wait, wait. We’ll be there.”. “.”.
Born in Oakland, California, Ryan Coogler revealed that prior to filming the film, he had never been to the Magnolia state.
In reference to his first visit to the state, he said, “Coming here, it blew my mind.”. In addition to meeting musicians, I also met locals and entrepreneurs. Just coming here and conducting the research truly transformed me. “.”.
The audience responded to Coogler’s invitation to be responsive to the film by gasping, laughing, and cheering at different points during the film. The audience was in a trance when the movie began and “Clarksdale, Mississippi October 15, 1932” splattered across the screen. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, a Clarksdale native who is in the movie and went to the screening, also got a lot of cheers and applause when he stepped onto the screen.
Following the morning screening, the Cooglers, Göransson, Ohanian, and Miles Caton—who starred in the movie for the first time—as well as musicians Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, Cederic Burnside, Tierinii Jackson, and Bobby Rush—all of whom contributed to the film—participated in a Q&A session led by Aallyah Wright of Capital B, a native of Clarksdale.
“We have a huge debt to Clarksdale.”.
There is evidence that the community has embraced Sinners: “Welcome to Clarksdale, Sinners Festival” is written on the sign outside New Roxy, a music venue that was once a Black movie theater. The Smokestack, the Dance with the Devil, and the Juke Joint Julep were among the Sinners-themed drinks available at Morgan Freeman’s juke joint, Ground Zero.
As Mississippians, we owe Clarksdale a great deal, and the world owes Mississippi and Clarksdale a great deal for being a mainstay of the world’s cultural landscape. In a statement, Jasmine Williams, founder of “Sipp Talk Media” and one of the festival’s organizers, said, “For me, Sinners was one of my very first experiences of seeing Mississippi in a full and beautiful light on the big screen.”. “I think it’s crucial that this movie returns home and is made available to the people who inspired it so that people here can comprehend our influence on the world.”. “.”.
Coogler himself introduced the film to the Clarksdale community on May 29 at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Clarksdale residents from all over the delta and Mississippi participated in music performances and other events during the Clarksdale Cultural Capital festival in addition to the screening.
Among the panels are Coffee With Kinfolk: Our Future of Clarksdale and Building a Blues Economy Rooted in Dignity and Cultural Diversity in the Mississippi Delta: Conversations With Choctaw and Chinese Americans. Additionally, there will be musical performances, such as a show by Keith Johnson, Muddy Waters’ nephew, a recording and jam session by Son House, and more.
