Event

HRWFF: Banished

In towns throughout the United States, in the years between the Civil War and the Great Depression, thousands of African American families were violently driven from their land by their white neighbors. The choice was simply get out or die. More than a century later these towns remain all white. Filmmaker Marco Williams (Two Towns of Jasper) brings this shameful legacy to light, as he investigates three such towns, addressing questions of racism, truth, and reparations. In Forsyth County, Georgia, he follows reporter Elliot Jaspin as he uncovers what happened to the property of African Americans who were driven out. In Pierce City, Missouri, two brothers try to persuade the town to relocate their ancestors remains to a more hospitable location. In Harrison, Arkansasthe current headquarters of the Ku Klux Klana group of white citizens try to find ways to overcome the towns racist past, but, with no Blacks involved, how can they understand the damage done and what would constitute moral reparations? Many questions are raised in this powerful film, but Williams leaves it to the viewersand the American people as a nationto come up with answers that respond to this overwhelming historical American tragedy. *Nominee, Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival 2007 Banished opens at Film Forum this fall.
Films website: http://banishedthefilm.com/