The First Annual Clarksdale Mississippi Film Festival

(Click on any Photo to Enlarge)

Clarksdale Mississippi. Crossroads of the Blues. Juke Joints. Music in the Streets. History everywhere. Childhood home of Tennessee Williams. Southern everything. Film Mecca?......wha...? Thats right Clarksdale just hosted it's first (and hopefully) annual film festival! With an emphasis on Mississippi themed films and shorts the festival ran across 4 days from January 27 through January 30.


Organised by film maker Roger Stolle owner of the world famous Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art in downtown Clarksdale.

Cat Head Delta Blues

Cat Head sells an incredible array of Blues oriented merchandise and art.

Some Cat Head Stuff

Clarksdale has been undergoing a renaissance of sorts in recent years as people like Roger and other merchants have moved into the downtown area and begun refurbishing dilapidated buildings. Part of this process has involved the starting of or continuation of festivals centered around the the music of the Mississippi Delta and the opening of museums celebrating this music and other types of Southern Heritage. This has included an upscale restaurant - Mididi - and and a blues club - Ground Zero - opened by Morgan Freeman and local Attorney and businessman Bill Luckett. Mr Luckett has thrown his hat in the ring for governor of Mississippi and I would say that most states (shameless plug) would be lucky to have a true blues affectionado as Mr. Luckett for their governor. Mr. Luckett is a tireless booster of the Clarksdale  resurgence and has put his money where his mouth is. We were impressed by his willingness to sit down and shoot the breeze over breakfast with the locals and strangers at the Delta Amusement Cafe on Delta Ave. just down from the Ground Zero Blues Club.

Da Bob - an I-talian in the Delta

Everyday of the festival our morning started here at the Amusement for breakfast, conversations, and of course a film. One of the components of the film festival was to enlist local restaurants to play films on their tv screens throughout the day. We enjoyed 'Breakfast Club' and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' at Delta Amusement on Friday and Saturday mornings. On Sunday Bobby Tarzi (the owner and prime raconteur) informed us there was good news and bad news. The good news was he wasn't cooking that day and the bad news was we were going hungry cause nothing was open downtown for breakfast! On the days he WAS cooking we enjoyed a home cooked breakfast and visits with 2 of the other organizers of the film festival - Nan Hughes and Goldie Hishberg.

Nancy on the left and Goldie on the right enjoying 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

We met Nancy our first day in town when we asked for directions to buy tickets. She was incredibly helpful all weekend and was always available to answer questions about Clarksdale or talk about anything at all whenever she got a break. Goldie was the indefatigable cheerleader. The Lady seemed to be everywhere and to know everyone and had that southern grace about her that managed to make a tee-shirt look elegant. Roger was the coordinator, Nancy the organizer, and Goldie the fundraiser. Together they were a formidable team that managed to create an amazing event.


THURSDAY


The festival began with a welcome from the organizers and a little music in the lobby of the Delta Cinema from Cadillac John, Bill Abel and Jon Popper sittin' in. Just some fine delta blues.

Cadillac John - 84 years old and still boppin the blues

From Left:
Jon Popper, Cadillac John, Bill Abel

The first film of the festival was "Raiders of the Lost Ark: Adaptation" by teen-age boys from Mississippi. A shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark that they started before they were old enough to drive and finally finishing seven years later. This film was at first in the WTF?! category for me. As I watched it became more and more engrossing. They actually did the entire movie with clever special effects and sets they made up as they went along. The boys obviously aged aged during the filming and it somehow worked - sort of like the dead moose on the piano - it made an odd kind of sense as the movie went along. Two of the films makers and actors were there to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards. Both are very engaging young guys and have continued on to form a film company. The number one question was "Why?!" The answer was they were just your regular everyday teens - obsessed with making movies and they just couldn't quit. A monument to perseverance they managed to pull it off with the money from paper routes and allowances. All of them were living in single parent homes with limited resources but with the complete support of those parents. It was a wonderful film and I urge everyone who gets a chance to see it.

FRIDAY

The schedule continued in Theater 1 with:

Barefoot Workshops: Clarksdale Retrospective, Part I – First retrospective of film shorts shot over the past few years highlighting fascinating cultural aspects of Clarksdale / Coahoma County residents, businesses, blues music and history.

Selections from Music in the Hall: Volume I – Brand-new concert film compilation from Oxford, Mississippi, featuring Shannon McNally, Cary Hudson, South Memphis String Band, Kenny Brown, Amy LaVere, Jimbo Mathus’s Mosquitoville and more.

Full Moon Lightnin’ – John Gardiner’s award-winning documentary offers two intertwining blues stories – one of NYC bluesman Floyd Lee’s return to his native Mississippi Delta and one of his guitarist Joel Poluck’s concurrent personal tragedies; partly shot in Clarksdale.

The Blues – Robert Gibbons’ amazing archival The Blues film comes to us via Canadian television circa 1966 and features rare interviews and performance by Mississippi natives Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Otis Span, Sunnyland Slim, Bukka White, Big Joe Williams and more.

One Night at Red’s – Clarksdale premiere! Mississippi Spoonman performs live at Clarksdale’s own legendary juke joint, Red’s Lounge, with special guest like Clarksdale’s Big Jack Johnson.

And in the main theater:

Down to the Crossroads: Volume I – Big Star Media presents blues-rocker George Thorogood and blues sax legend Eddie Shaw filmed live at Clarksdale’s own Ground Zero Blues Club by Vincent Productions; award-nominated film includes music and interviews. Filmmaker Q&A after.

Don’t Start Me Talkin’: The Junior Wells Story – Clarksdale premiere of Peter Carlson’s acclaimed film biography of one of the biggest names to every pick up the “Mississippi saxophone” (a.k.a. harmonica) – Junior Wells. Born in the South but made famous in the North, it’s the story of a man born into the blues.

M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues – Filmed partly in Clarksdale, the award-winning M for Mississippi follows two blues fans on a fun and fantastic road trip to visit the region’s craziest bluesmen and juke joints.  Filmmaker Q&A after with Roger Stolle. Not to be missed!!

Big Shoes: Walking and Talking the Blues – Legendary music filmmaker (Deep Blues, Blues Divas) Robert Mugge’s newest offering stars the Scissormen – a modern blues band based on tradition – as they play, tour and talk blues history.  Introduction/Q&A with Scissormen’s Ted Drozdowski.  A wonderful film and a fascinating introduction to these two unique musicians. See Saturdays activities for photos of these guys performing live at Cat Head.

Followed in the evening by a reception with wine and cheese and the music of Sean "Bad" Apple.

Sean 'Bad' Apple

And the film of the night:

Prom Night in Mississippi – Filmmakers Paul Saltzman and Patricia Aquino present the award-winning true story of actor Morgan Freeman’s offer to pay for Prom Night in Charleston, Mississippi.  There’s one hitch, though.  The historically separate white and black proms must integrate.  An interesting film that had a stimulating conversation both after the film with the film makers and with the film goers in the lobby afterwards. Although Morgan Freeman was in town the previous night at his restaurant he did not attend the screening.

SATURDAY

The schedule continued in Theater 1 with:

Barefoot Workshops: Clarksdale Retrospective, Part II – Retrospective of film shorts shot over the past few years continues… highlighting fascinating cultural aspects of Clarksdale / Coahoma County residents, businesses, blues music and history.

3 Film Shorts: Lukos (Michael Williams), Faithful Departed (Daniel Lee), Shudder House (Joey Dello Russo) – Three haunting film shorts in 45 frightful minutes, featuring strong Mississippi ties (filmmakers, locations and/or music).

Dedan le Sud de la Louisiane (In the South of Louisiana) – A Southern music movie classic by French filmmaker de Jean-Pierre Bruneau featuring a beautifully shot, travelogue study of Cajun music and culture, circa 1974.

The Story of Cotton – Willy Bearden and Deep Delta Films presents The Story of Cotton – a history forever tied the Delta and Deep South; documentary features archival photos, contemporary interviews and more. Introduction/Q&A by the filmmaker.

One Came Home – Clarksdale premiere of feature film by Mississippi-born Willy Bearden (shown here as part of a Bearden double-feature), One Came Home is a powerful drama full of love and lies set in Magnolia, Mississippi, circa 1946. Introduction/Q&A by the filmmaker.

The Blues – Encore presentation… Robert Gibbons’ amazing archival The Blues film comes to us via Canadian television circa 1966 and features rare interviews and performance by Mississippi natives Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Otis Span, Sunnyland Slim, Bukka White and more.

And in the main theater:

Let Your Feet Do the Talkin’ – Stewart Copeland’s deeply personal look at buckdancing legend Thomas Maupin – one of the South’s last, great old-time dancers.  (Presented in part by Dust-To-Digital.)

Smoke & Ears – Joe York’s film short about a Jackson, Mississippi, institution – the pig ear sandwiches at The Big Apple Inn.  (Presented in part by Scott Barretta.)

Hill Country Blues Picnic – Enjoy a sampling of Kenny Brown’s now-legendary Hill Country Blues Picnic, filmed in Potts Camp, Mississippi, and featuring several North Mississippi blues favorites.

Selections from Music in the Hall: Volume I – Encore presentation of a new concert film compilation from Oxford, Mississippi, featuring Shannon McNally, Cary Hudson, South Memphis String Band, Kenny Brown, Amy LaVere, Jimbo Mathus’s Mosquitoville and more.

Hard Times – A film by Damien Blaylock and Roger Stolle in which Big George Brock tells his fascinating “Mississippi blues gone North” story through archival photos, live blues performances and contemporary interviews; filmed partly in Clarksdale. Filmmaker Q&A after.

Blues: Mississippi’s Gift to the World – Clarksdale premiere of these wonderful film shorts courtesy of the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi.

Falsifyn’ – Greg Sabatino’s rollicking boogie-woogie piano film – shot at Clarksdale’s Ground Zero Blues Club and starring Jerry Lee Lewis, Pinetop Perkins, Marcia Ball and Henry Gray. Introduction/Q&A by the filmmaker.

The Best That Never Was – Jonathan Hock’s stirring story of Philadelphia, Mississippi’s football prodigy Marcus Dupree.  Using archival footage and contemporary interviews, The Best That Never Was tells a spine-tingling tale of triumph, failure and redemption.  (Recently part of ESPN’s acclaimed “30 For 30” series.)  Filmmaker introduction – plus a very special Q&A after featuring Best’s Director of Photography Alastair Christopher and the football star himself – Marcus Dupree.

Saturday also included a tour of "movie" Clarksdale narrated by local historian and author Robert Birdsong:

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

Tom, as he was known then, moved to Clarksdale when he was 3. His maternal grandfather Walter Dakin, the family patriarch, became the rector of St. George's Episcopal Church for sixteen years. Clarksdale provided the tapestry of stories, characters and settings for some of Williams's most memorable plays. The wide green landscapes of the Delta that surround Clarksdale are described by Big Daddy in Cat as "the richest land this side of the Valley Nile". He spent many nights in this house, the rectory of the church:

Rectory is on the Right

Tom wasn't very athletic and to add to his misery his parent dressed him all in white with a blazer and short pants. This led to a memorable 'butt whuppin' he suffered in the yard of this house by the town bully who went on to become the sheriff:

Butt whoppin home...

Robert Birdsong reminded us however that the pen is mightier than the sword as Tennessee used him as the model for 'Brick' in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - a redneck, alcoholic, wife beater with homosexual tenancies.

Finally the tour took us by the Grange Cemetery and this remarkable statue on a grave:

The Angel From Summer & Smoke

Saturday afternoon we took in The Scissormen, the subject of the film, Big Shoes: Walking and Talking the Blues, played an acoustic set at Cat Head. The guitar player, Ted Drozdowski, and his wife were staying at the Shack up INN. He and I spent a lovely sunny morning outside his shack just talkin' and hangin out.

Ted Drozdowski

He and his henchman, drummer Rob Hulsman, played several songs for an appreciative group at the Cat Head Shop. Ted brought out a one stringed guitar and got some pretty cool sounds out of it.

Ted and Rob Hulsman - The Scissormen

Every day of the festival included local restaurants who joined in and played films on their in house video screens that included everything from "The Shawshank Redemption" to "Field of Dreams" and of course "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". My favorite was "Watermelon Slim live at the Ground Zero Blues Club" that was played Saturday night at the Blueberry Cafe followed by a performance by Slim himself:

Owner of The Bluesberry Cafe and Friend

Slim brought the house down with his performance of "And When I die.." which he did with just his harmonica and doing a 'stomp' throughout. Here he is playing slide guitar:

Watermelon Slim - Highway 61

Sunday included some encores of films shown previously and more films at the restaurants. At the end of the 3 days we hated for it to be over! We left Clarksdale with many newly formed friendships and a desire to return soon. The organizers of the film festival intend for it to be an annual event and hopefully grow. If you enjoy film and blues music you really MUST come here next year for the second festival! Tel em' Blue Honey told you about it!

Joe/Dot