In April, the directorRyan Cooglerreleased 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 donein almost a decade.
But residents in Clarksdale, a town with about 14,000 people, the majority of whom are Black, had no way to see themselves on screen in their community. There are no active movie theaters in or near the town.
Tyler Yarbrough, a Clarksdale native and community leader, published an open letter on behalf of “an intergenerational group of organizations, creatives, entrepreneurs, farmers, and community leaders” inviting Coogler and theSinnerscast to 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 every frame, and to experience first-hand the living, breathing legacy that inspired your work and the people who are sustaining and reimagining its future,” Yarbroughwrote.
“We would also be honored to collaborate with you to host a public screening and celebration here in Clarksdale. A homecoming not just for the film, but for the history, culture, and future that continue to define our city and to connectMississippicreatives with you and your work.”
The letter quickly went viral afterCapital B,a Black-led non-profit news organization, reported about it and it was picked up by other news outlets and on social media.
“We’re also hoping for them to 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,” Yarbrough told the Guardian in early May. “The blues is the foundation of all American music and American culture. There’s so much power in that that originates here. As we think about our national story, our community story, I do think Clarksdale and the [Mississippi] delta, specifically, is going to be a part of this retelling of America to this connecting all Black people in this country back to this ancestral land too.”
Coogler and Warner Bros heard and answered the call, and on 29 May, people in Clarksdale were finally able to see themselves in their own community.
As a part of Clarksdale Cultural Capital, a three-day festival sponsored by Warner Bros and others, residents of Clarksdale have multiple free opportunities to see the movie in their home town.
Coogler; his wife, a producer and co-founder of Proximity Media, Zinzi Coogler; Ludwig Göransson, the film’s composer; Sev Ohanian, another producer and co-founder of Proximity Media; and executive music producer Serena Göransson attended and introduced the 29 May morning screening, which was held in the Clarksdale civic auditorium.
Both Cooglers have family from Mississippi – Zinzi’s grandparents are from the state as are one of Ryan’s grandfathers and an uncle, who inspired him to make the film.
“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,” Zinzi Coogler said ahead of the first screening. “We heard the call that there isn’t a theater for the local community, and said, ‘Wait, wait, wait, we will show up.’”
Ryan Coogler, an Oakland, California, native, shared that he hadn’t visited the Magnolia state before working on the movie.
“Coming here, it blew my mind,” he said of his first visit to the state. “I got to meet musicians, I got to meet community members, business owners. It really changed me just to come here and do the research.”
Coogler invited the audience to be responsive to the film, and they acquiesced – cheering, laughing and gasping at various times throughout the movie. When the film opened, and “Clarksdale, Mississippi October 15, 1932” splashed across the screen, the audience was rapturous. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, a native of Clarksdale who is featured in the film and attended the screening, likewise received thunderous applause and cheers when he appeared on screen.
After the morning showing, the Cooglers, Göransson, Ohanian and Miles Caton, who had his debut role in the film, and Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, Cederic Burnside, Tierinii Jackson and Bobby Rush, all musicians who worked on the film, participated in a question-and-answer session hosted by Clarksdale native Aallyah Wright, of Capital B.
The community has bought into Sinners: A sign outside New Roxy, formerly a Black movie theater and now a music venue, reads: “Welcome to Clarksdale, Sinners Festival.” Ground Zero, Morgan Freeman’s juke joint, offered Sinners-themed drinks: the Smokestack, the Dance with the Devil and the Juke Joint Julep.
“We owe Clarksdale so much, as Mississippians, the world owes Clarksdale and Mississippi as a whole so much for being a staple in the global culture landscape. For me, Sinners was one of my very first experiences of seeing Mississippi in a full and beautiful light on the big screen,” Jasmine Williams, founder of ’Sipp Talk Media and one of the festival’s organizers, said in a statement. “I think this film coming home and being made accessible to the people that inspired it is so important, so people here understand our impact on the world.”
On 29 May, Clarksdale residents had two opportunities to see the film: the 11am showing and a 5pm showing, both of which were introduced by Coogler himself. Alongside the screening, the Clarksdale Cultural Capital festival featured music performances and other events featuring people from Clarksdale, across the delta and Mississippi.
Panels include Coffee With Kinfolk: Our Future of Clarksdale, Building a Blues Economy Rooted in Dignity and Cultural Diversity in the Mississippi Delta: Conversations With Choctaw and Chinese Americans, among others, while musical performances include music inspired by Sinners, held at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero; a show by Keith Johnson, Muddy Waters’ nephew; a Son House recording and jam session; and others.