Prom Night in Mississippi
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Prom Night in Mississippi
Plot
While the United States Supreme Court declared that segregated schools were unconstitutional in 1954, change came slowly to Charleston, Mississippi. Once a haven for the Ku Klux Klan, Charleston maintained segregated public schools until well into the 1970's, and even then one major event in the school year was still divided along racial lines. Charleston's high school had separate Senior Proms for white and African-American students, and the annual events made news in 1997 when actor Morgan Freeman, a Charleston native, spoke out against the "separate but equal" proms and made the school board an offer -- if they held an integrated prom, he would pay for it. Morgan's offer was refused at the time, but in 2008, Charleston announced that black and white students would attend the same prom for the first time. Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman offers a look at the long and rocky road to this step towards racial equality in the documentary Prom Night In Mississippi, which features interviews with a number of students (some of whom speak out against racism while being photographed in shadow, fearing repercussions from their community and their parents), faculty members and parents on both sides of the issue, as well as Morgan Freeman. (A group of white parents in Charleston staged a private "whites only" prom, but Saltzman and his crew were denied permission to film it.) Prom Night In Mississippi received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, RoviCast
Morgan Freeman; Chasidy Buckley; Jessica Shivers; Bucky SmithCredit
Thabi Moyo - Associate Producer, Paul Hay - Associate Producer, Paul Saltzman - Director, Kevin Schjerning - Editor, Stephen Philipson - Editor, David Ransley - Editor, Sheila Nevins - Executive Producer, Jack Lenz - Composer (Music Score), Asher Lenz - Composer (Music Score), Paul Saltzman - Cinematographer, Bongo - Cinematographer, Don Warren - Cinematographer, Paul Kolycius - Cinematographer, Bongo Don Warren - Cinematographer, Nancy Abraham - Producer, Paul Saltzman - Producer, Patricia Aquino - Producer, Thabi Moyo - Sound/Sound Designer, Corey Easley - Sound/Sound Designer, Paul Saltzman - Screenwriter| Prom Night in Kansas City (2002 Film), Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil (1991 Film) | |
| Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (2004 Film), Prom Wars (2008 Film) |
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Prom Night in Mississippi
| Prom Night in Mississippi | |
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 film poster |
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| Directed by | Paul Saltzman |
| Produced by | Paul Saltzman Patricia Aquino |
| Written by | Paul Saltzman |
| Music by | Asher Lenz Jack Lenz |
| Cinematography | Paul Kolycius Don Warren |
| Editing by | Stephen Philipson David Ransley Kevin Schjerning |
| Studio | Return to Mississippi Productions |
| Release date(s) | December 11, 2009 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $750,000 |
Prom Night in Mississippi is a 2009 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Paul Saltzman. The documentary follows a group of 2008 Charleston High School high school seniors in Charleston, Mississippi as they prepare for their senior prom, the first racially integrated prom in Charleston history.[1][2]
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Contents
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Background and production
The prom was funded by Morgan Freeman, a Charleston resident, and exposed racial tension in the town, mainly among administrators and parents of the students of the high school. Filmed on location in Mississippi, Prom Night in Mississippi was directed by Canadian director Paul Saltzman with his wife Patricia Aquino acting as producer. It was filmed over a four-month period on a budget of $750,000 of the director's own money. The crew shot over 165 hours of footage, 89 minutes of which were used in the final version.[3] It was shown on HBO,[4] premiered in Toronto on November 12, 2009, and had its theatrical release on December 11, 2009.[3]
Documentary
The documentary is about the senior prom in Charleston, Mississippi. The high school in Charleston (a community of 2,100 residents) has an average of 80 graduates per year, and up until 2008 had separate, segregated proms for black students and white students,[3] despite Mississippi fully integrating their schools in 1970.[5] In 1997 Morgan Freeman (a resident of Charleston since 1991) approached the school and offered to pay for the prom, provided it be racially integrated. The school declined Freeman's offer. In 2008 Freeman offered again, and the school agreed to move forward with an integrated prom.[3]
Saltzman follows a group of students, both black and white, over four months as they prepare for their senior prom. The students discuss segregation in Charleston and how they feel about it. The documentary also explores issues such as interracial relationships, and what the parents think about an integrated prom. The integrated prom is successful despite some parents' forbidding their children to attend it, and that a white only prom was held by some of the parents.[3] The film brought some racial tension to the town of Charleston, mostly from the parents and school authorities concerned with "tradition and security issues",[6] with a group of parents planning a separate prom for white students only.[7]
Recognition
Awards & nominations
- 2009, Won Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary, AFI Dallas International Film Festival[8]
- 2009, Won Audience Choice Award, Jackson Crossroads Film Festival
- 2009, Won Audience Choice Award, Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi
- 2009, Nominated for Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary at Sundance Film Festival
References
- ^ Sood, Suemedha (June 11, 2008). "Charleston's First Integrated Prom". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/article/charlestons-first-integrated-prom. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
- ^ Poulou, Penelope (March 9, 2009). "'Prom Night in Mississippi' Makes History". VOA News. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-03/2009-03-09-voa52.cfm?moddate=2009-03-09. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
- ^ a b c d e Schneller, Johanna (November 13, 2009). "Morgan Freeman talks about his Prom Night in Mississippi". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/morgan-freeman-talks-about-his-prom-night-in-mississippi/article1362414/. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Bellafante, Ginia (July 19, 2009). "Sharing a Dance, History Afoot". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/arts/television/20prom.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "Mississippi School Holds First Interracial Prom". National Public Radio. June 11, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91371629. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Wilner, Norman (November 11-18, 2009). "Prom Night In Mississippi". NOW. http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=172294. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Gow, Steve (November 12, 2009). "Prom Night in Mississippi". Metro News. http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/entertainment/article/368108--prom-night-in-mississippi. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ "Two Canadian docs make international waves". CBC. 2009-04-30. http://www.cbc.ca/mobile/text/story_arts.html?/ept/html/story/2009/04/30/documentaries-canadian.html. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
See also
External links
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