Director Ryan Coogler's new movie Sinners has ruled the box office for the past two weeks since it's debut [click here if you missed that].
Now residents of Clarksdale, MS, where the film is set, have started a petition to have Coogler visit and host a screening because they don't have a theater in Clarksdale...
From Action Network
Dear Mr. Coogler, Mr. Jordan, and the extraordinary Sinners Cast and Crew,
We write to you from Clarksdale, Mississippi, the place where your story found its roots, and where its spirit still runs deep in our music, our memory, and our everyday lives.
An intergenerational group of organizations, creatives, entrepreneurs, farmers, and community leaders has come together, being so moved by the bold, imaginative world you brought to life in Sinners.
While Sinners is, of course, a supernatural adventure, complete with vampires and all the terror, it’s clear you did your homework. The love you have for Southern folk, Mississippians and Clarksdale came to life through your commitment to writing us right. Getting to know us and sharing that love through your work on this film.
Beneath the horror and fantasy, your film captures the soul of this place: our history, our struggles, our genius, our joy, our community.
We know that Sinners was born from a deeply personal place, inspired by your uncle, a Mississippi native, who often played blues music and told you stories about Mississippi. That connection, and all the deep research shines through. It’s why the film doesn’t just entertain; it feels lived-in, loved, and wrestled with.
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 firsthand the living, breathing legacy that inspired your work and the people who are sustaining and reimagining its future,
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 connect Mississippi creatives with you and your work.
Just as your uncle’s Blues Music and making this film lit a fire in you, we believe a visit to Clarksdale from you could light an even bigger one for the next generation.
We are ready. We are waiting. And we would be proud to welcome you back to where it all began.With respect, admiration, and hope,
11 comments:
Yes, I'm here for this. Ryan Coogler is going to make money and get recognition from the movie and rightly so. They should also shed some light and recognition of the people of Clarksdale. Love this move.
Sounds like a good idea.
I know the Yt folks didn't write that letter. The town is so small they can't get to a movie theater in the next big town. I can't imagine living is such a small place. The world is such a large place to experience before kicking the bucket. LOLO
This would be beautiful.
I just hope they don't turn Clarksdale into a tourist stop for horror shows. Can't have that at all.
I got stuck in clarksdale for 2 weeks when my tour bus broke down. Made friends with the Mayor, Bill Luckett (I knew his son who lived in LA)..never realized there wasn't a theatre but I'm not surprised. Its super small and the biggest thing popping is the blues club which I stayed at (apartments over the club). I had trouble finding any fresh fruits and vegetables in that town. The blues club, ground zero, which is co owned by Morgan Freeman (and bill until he died in 2013). A pretty terrible place to figure out that the blues drives you insane.
Ryan can buy everybody in town a Netflix subscription. That's the most that's going to happen.
They asking for a chillin circuit run stop.
Don’t say it’s an ALL Black town Caause you know who might want to flood it, burn it down or run a freeway through it.
I've been to Clarksdale some years ago for a father/daughter blues trail trip (this city was one of the stops). Morgan Freeman co-owns a blues club there called ground zero...it was a fun experience. There's a fair amount of tourism there for the blues festival...not sure what that's like now.
How has the absence of a local movie theater in Clarksdale impacted residents' ability to engage with films like Sinners that are deeply connected to their community?
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